


Yellow Textbooks

by The_Scent_Of_Rain



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, College AU, Drinking, F/F, Fluff, Friendship, Human AU, Manipulation, cursing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-22
Updated: 2017-06-11
Packaged: 2018-04-10 17:46:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 36
Words: 74,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4401419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Scent_Of_Rain/pseuds/The_Scent_Of_Rain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peridot finds herself with a hopeless crush on her teacher, Professor Diamond. However, her friend and roommate, Lapis and Jasper, seem to get a little worried when Professor Diamond starts getting a bit too involved with Peridot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Classrooms and Roommates

Peridot mindlessly watched as her professor paced at the front of the room, listing off details concerning the images and descriptions being projected above her head.

The woman upfront wore a gray suit with puffy shoulder pads, a white blouse underneath, and gray dress pants that nicely matched up with the suit. A necklace consisting of small, circular yellow diamonds hung along her neck, occasionally glinting in the light of the projection. Her hair was a shade of dull blonde, cut short enough to where it barely reached past her jaw before it curling upwards against her cheeks. Her bangs were oddly cut, but Peridot believed it suited her, and added a little more onto her  professional appearance.

Peridot adored each and every factor of the woman's appearance. Unsurprisingly, she was incredible and almost hypnotizing to look at. Her necklace mirrored the nearly gold tone of her eyes, and stood out brilliantly against the dull colors of her clothing. Peridot occasionally found herself believing that her eyes were made from the little diamonds in her necklace, since they were so similar.

Her appearance, of course, was only one of the many things that Peridot grew to love about the professor. After all the years Peridot spent in school, of all the teachers she ever had the pleasure _*and displeasure*_ of meeting, she could without a doubt say that Professor Diamond was her favorite. She was magnificent in her lectures, and the method in which she taught was smooth and easy to follow. She gave fair assignments, and her tests were simple and easy to study for, although she still managing to providing a sturdy challenge for her students with it's content. She was a fantastic teacher who knew every detail of what she was talking about, and she knew how to effectively lead a classroom to learn the information that she was assigned to teach them. It was an experience every time Peridot walked into her class. Peridot would enjoy listening and admiring the professor's intellect, and the smoothness of her voice. Every day the professor would wear a new suit and blouse, and Peridot would become lost in the woman's beauty. 

The woman was flawless.

At least, in Peridot's perspective. 

Peridot could easily say that she loved the class, all because of this teacher. She managed to take what was supposed to be Peridot's most dreaded subject and turned it into something more than enjoyable for her.

She was smart.

She was beautiful.

She was respectable.

She was everything that Peridot would ever want to be and then some, so of course, Peridot had a crush on her.

Naturally, she wanted Professor Diamond to like her back. She wanted her attention, she craved her _approval_. She wanted to become important, _impressive_ in the woman's eyes. She wanted to make an impact on her professor in return for the impact she had on her. Just . . . some small form of approval or praise was all she wanted. Validation that she knew she existed. She didn't want to be another face in her classroom, she wanted to _be_ something to the woman. A friend, an ally, a helpful companion, _something_. But she just . . . she didn't know how she could do that.

Occasionally, Peridot would find herself brainstorming ways to accomplish this. She figured that she could ask for extra work to do outside of class in order to raise up her grade, but considering that she had other classes to attend to, alongside work to go to, Peridot ruled the idea out. She couldn't handle any more work at the moment, even if she was more than willing enough to do it. She thought up a few other ideas, but nothing seemed to stick or stand out as good enough. She fantasized about herself offering to help clean up the classroom, or help the professor with her troublesome paperwork. She imagined staying behind every day to spend time with the woman as she helped her with mundane tasks, like in some cheesy cartoon show. It made Peridot sick to think that she'd stoop to such a low level of romantic fantasizing, but here she was. 

_Nice._

The best idea that Peridot came to think of was to get herself to the front of the classroom. At least that way she would be more noticeable. They didn't necessarily have assigned seats, but Professor Diamond had mentioned earlier in the year that students should stick to the same seat, so that taking attendance wouldn't be so difficult. Peridot figured that she could simply get an okay from the professor to move seats, complaining that her eyesight was getting blurry, and that she needed a new prescription for her glasses. The more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea. Loved the idea. It was a _great_ idea. _Awesome_. She could get to the front of the class _and_ she would get to personally talk to the teacher in order to do it.

Once the professor dismissed the class, the students began packing up, rising from their seats and leaving the room in multiple noisy conversations. Peridot grinned as she quickly packed up her things, slipping her bag over her shoulder as she climbed down the stairs.

She took a deep breath before heading towards her desk, stopping in her tracks once another two students cut in front of her, apparently, both had the intention of speaking to the professor as well.

"Um, Professor?" One of them asked. Professor Diamond lifted her eyes from her desk to the students, raising an eyebrow at them questioningly. "Yes?" she asked.

Peridot quietly groaned behind them, which luckily went unheard by the group as they spoke about an upcoming test, and something else that Peridot didn't care to listen to.

 _'How dare they.'_ she thought. She finally thinks up a good plan and these two . . . these two **_clods_ ** think they can walk up and take her place! Peridot's nose scrunched up in frustration as she waited impatiently for the two to finish up _whatever_ they had come to talk about. She crossed her arms and waited behind them for what felt like forever, but in all reality, was only around three minutes.

Once they finally left the room, Peridot took a step up to the desk, finding that the professor had already focused her attention back down to her paperwork. A moment passed between them before Professor Diamond took notice of Peridot, who was nervously wringing her fingers together and biting on her bottom lip, silently waiting for the teacher to notice her.

"Yes, can I help you?" she asked, seemingly uninterested and a little annoyed by the silence.

Peridot froze. What was she supposed to say? She had something planned out a while ago, _moments ago_ , but suddenly her mind went blank. The professor stared at her, waiting for an answer as Peridot stalled up. Her chest tightened as every agonizing second went by where she was expected to say something. Every second Peridot found herself more and more lost in her head than before. Words twisted in her throat and ideas stretched around in her mind. She couldn't remember what she was going to say when she came up here. Something about her eyes. _Something about her eyes!_ She couldn't think of any of rational idea as to what it could be. She wanted say something, _anything_ , but she couldn't. Another moment went by before Peridot finally opened her mouth. She didn't have chance to realize what she was saying before it was already out of her mouth.

"I, uhm. I had the same question as the others in front of me. I was listening so I have the answer now. Uhm. Thank you. Sorry." Peridot clumsily sputtered out the lie. Heat rose up to her face and even if she didn't look it, she felt like she was going to throw up from embarrassment.

The professor simply gave her a long, confused stare before looking down at her paperwork, seemingly slightly more annoyed than before. "Very good. You can leave then."

Peridot barely managed nod before she was out the door, walking down the halls on shaking, unstable legs.

 _'Stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid **STUPID!!!'**  _she screamed at herself in her mind.

 _'If those **clods** hadn't gotten in front of me I would've remembered what I wanted to say! Those clods! Those jerks! Those assholes! Those, those- **arrrrgh!!!!'**_   She slammed her palm against her forehead and drug it down her face, gritting her teeth as she replayed the embarrassing scene in her head on repeat.

She couldn't try again even if she wanted to! Professor Diamond would remember her face! She'd stall up again! Some other students would get in her way! It was all _their_ fault! She had this idea fucking perfect and now she couldn't even remember what it was!

Peridot groaned as she trudged into her next classroom. She could go home and dwell over this all she wanted after this class. But until then, she had to get through 45 agonizing minutes of a math lecture.

 

~ ~ ~

 

"What's up, pointy?" Her roommate asked, dropping her gym bag onto the floor before kicking her shoes off, watching as Peridot typed away on some document on her computer.

"Research paper." Peridot stated blandly, ignoring as the girl stood over her shoulder, resting her hands on the back of the chair as she stared down at the computer screen, filling Peridot's nostrils with the scent of sweat, metal and heat.

Her roommate, Jasper, was a tall, buff girl with bright eyes and long hair. Her skin was brown in color with patches of lighter skin that stretched over her eyes and various other places on her body. She told Peridot once that it was some sort of condition called Vitiligo, which caused patches of her skin and hair to loose pigment and change to a lighter color. The disease caused strands of her hair to turn white, and instead of dying those strands back to her natural brown, she dyed her whole head of hair to the white color the disease wanted. To say that Jasper looked unique was an understatement. She caught the eye of many people, and was often given a fair amount of compliments, and unfortunately, insults as well. Although, those who dared to even murmur ridicule towards her were often awarded with a black eye or bloody nose. Jasper was a force to be reckoned with, and her physic allowed her to make certain those who made fun of her thought twice before doing it again.

Peridot and Jasper didn't exactly hate eachother, but they didn't love each other either. They were close, but they tolerated each other at best most of the time. They got along fairly well, despite their relationship being made up mostly of name calling and pissing each other off. Despite the occasional bickering and name calling though, they had a decent friendship, and they never aimed to seriously hurt one another with what they said. They would never go out of their way to compliment one another, or to even verbally call themselves friends, and that was just the way things were between the two. They _did_ consider each other a friend and they _did_ care about one another, even if they wouldn't show it. If anyone were to ask, they would simply state that meathead and nerd were forced to be roommates, and only hung out with each other because they were both friends with Lapis Lazuli.

Speaking of Lapis.

"Hey, Lapis asked to hang out later. You wanna come?" Jasper asked, walking away from the chair to the closet, grabbing herself new set of clothes.

"Sure, whatever. Just take a shower before we leave, you smell like roadkill." Peridot stated, holding a hand up to her nose to block the scent, causing Jasper to roll her eyes. "I'm not walking around next to you smelling like death."

Jasper let out a huff. "Yeah yeah, whatever. I'll take a shower." she said, raising her hands above her head, stretching the muscles in her arms and back before lowering them back down to her side. "Why don't you add an extra point to your hair while you're waiting on me."

Peridot scoffed, clicking away at her keyboard as she tried to ignore the grin spreading over Jasper's face. "For the last time, my hair isn't a fucking joke. I don't know why you guys see it like that, it just sticks out a little!"

Jasper shrugged with a small smirk resting on her face. She turned around and headed towards the bathroom, slipping the ponytail holder out of her hair along the way. "Whatever you say, pointy."

The bathroom door locked shut and Peridot sighed, clicking on her computer's camera option to take a look at herself.

Peridot was a rather skinny person. Her arms were slim and her face was long. Her platinum blonde hair stuck up at the sides and at the top of her head, soft and messy and barely reaching below her chin. When it was wet though, the tips could just barely touch her shoulders. Her skin was tanned and her eyes were a dull green behind her circle-shaped glasses. She was wearing a black tank top at the moment and a pair of green jean shorts. Peridot grumbled as she ran her fingers through the tuft of hair sticking up on her head. It flattened, and she repeated the process with the other two sides of her hair, pulling them behind her head, and then down to her shoulders, messing around with different styles for a few moments.

After pulling her hair back into a ponytail, she gave the image of herself a underwhelmed expression before attempting to push it back in it's original style. An image popped into her head of Professor Diamond's hair, and Peridot froze for a moment, glancing to the bathroom door before she stared back at her computer screen, weighing her options before grabbing her hairbrush off her bed, trying out another style with her hair.

 

~ ~ ~

 

Jasper walked out of the bathroom with a towel in her hands, drying off her mop of white hair and tossing her dirty gym clothes onto her bed.

"Hey Peridot, you ready to g-" Jasper stopped mid-sentence to throw her panicking roommate a confused stare, watching as she frantically tried to brush her hair out of some weird style.

"What the hell are you-"

" ** _Nothing!!_** I'll be ready in a minute!!" She practically screamed, brushing her hair back into it's three segments and abruptly standing up from her chair, walking over to her bed to put her shoes on.

Jasper watched the scene before rolling her eyes, walking back into the bathroom to get ready.

"Weirdo."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Human designs for Peridot and Jasper are based off of ruki-32's artwork on tumblr. Go check them out! They have absolutely amazing artwork, especially for Peridot! :)


	2. Talk To Me

Peridot sighed as she stuffed her notebook into her bag, slinging it over her shoulder as she stepped down the stairs with the other students. She usually _loathed_ being stuck walking so close to others, but today it felt comfortable to her. She just wanted to hide away from everyone after the embarrassing conversation she had yesterday with her professor, and if she had to hide inside of a group of obnoxious college students, then so be it.

She made her way to the door, hidden inside the crowd of people and praying that her professor wouldn't see her and recall yesterday's incident.

" _Peridot._ " she called. "Hold on a moment."

" _Fuck_." Peridot whispered, waiting for the people around her to exit the room, leaving her exposed for Professor Diamond to see.

"I need to talk to you for a minute." she stated, and Peridot nervously turned around, heart thumping in her chest as she slowly sulked over to her desk, dreading some sort of recap of yesterday's blunder.

"It's about your paper from last week. You didn't do so well on it. You emailed me about redoing it a few days ago, correct?." she questioned, looking up at Peridot with yellow diamond eyes that usually made Peridot entranced, but this time, just made her want to run away.

"O-oh, right. Yeah, I did." she stammered, watching as the professor pulled out a piece of paper from a pile, handing it to Peridot who took it nervously, scanning over the words on the page.

"Everything you need to know about rewriting it is on that page. You've been given a new due date, of course." she stated as Peridot nodded nervously.

"O-of course. I'll get right on it. Thank you ma'am." she said, and after a slight nod from her professor, she quickly walked out the door and away from the classroom, sighing as she pressed the paper against her face with a long, drawn out groan.

" ** _Arrrrgh_** , this is just _perfect!"_ she complained.

"First I forget my idea and now I have to make up some _dumb_ paper. What a **_wonderful_ ** impression you've just established, Peridot!" she huffed, pulling the now crinkled paper off her face and reading over the text, frowning at the content. It was the usual make up requirements, stating the date the paper would be due on and the maximum amount of points she'd be able to earn on it. She grumbled to herself as she shoved the paper into her bag, making her way to her next class in an even worse mood than yesterday.

 

~ ~ ~

 

Peridot laid on her bed, hands covering up her face as Jasper laughed at her from across the room.

"Holy shit. Sounds like you've got it rough." Jasper said, grinning to herself as Peridot groaned.

"It's not funny, Jasper! I looked like a fucking idiot yesterday! And after _this!_ " She said, holding up the paper before letting her arm fall to the bed. " _Ughhh_ I don't know what to do anymore!"

Jasper's smile faded a bit, she shrugged as she dug through the mini fridge, pulling out a container of orange juice. "Just forget about it. She's a teacher, it's not like you guys are gonna hook up or anything, you know. That'd be gross."

" _I know that!!_ " Peridot barked back, causing Jasper to hold her hands up in defense. "Yeesh, calm down, will ya?"

Peridot sighed and rolled onto her side. "I know I can't just _'hook up'_ with her, but . . . I just want her to at lease  _notice_ me. Not in some _dumb_ or _embarrassing_ way like today either." Peridot took off her glasses, rubbing her eyes with her index finger and thumb. "She's perfect. She's an amazing teacher, she's beautiful, respectable and I just . . . I feel like I want her to respect me too, you know? Just . . . you can't just meet someone who's so _perfect_   and then just walk away from that." Peridot breathed in a low voice, staring up at the ceiling and closing her eyes, letting the hand holding her glasses fall to her side. Jasper frowned and exhaled, abandoning her juice on their table in favor of sitting on Peridot's, looking down at her roommate's frustrated face.

"Listen, I get that you want her attention and all, but . . . she's dealing with loads of students every day. It's gonna be difficult to stand out in front of all those guys." Peridot opened her eyes, and Jasper turned her stare from her roommate to the wall, running a hand through her long hair. "I'm just saying . . . you shouldn't work yourself up over this shit. I think it's best just to try and get over this crush you've got on her, because I don't think it's gonna happen."

Peridot sighed, sitting up on the bed and putting her glasses back on. "How do you suppose I do that?"

Jasper let a chuckled, smiling sadly down at Peridot. "Trust me, when I figure it out, I'll tell you."

Peridot nodded and fell onto her back, frowning up at the ceiling again. "I feel so _stupid_."

Jasper laughed and grinned down at her roommate. "Hey, don't sweat it. Everyone gets a crush on a teacher at some point in their lives. It's usually short lived though. You don't have anything to worry about, trust me." Peridot's eyes wandered over to her roommate, giving her a curious look.

"You've had a crush on a teacher before?" 

Jasper smirked, nodding her head as she stood up, walking to the table to retrieve her orange juice.

"Sure. There's been loads of hot teachers I've been interested in. But you've gotta look at it from a different point of view." she stated, taking a swig of her juice. "Do you _really_ wanna hook up with a teacher? I mean, sure it'd be nice to hook up with them once but, imagine _dating_ them. It doesn't seem so appealing now, does it? Doing that with someone, like, twenty years older than you." Jasper asked, watching Peridot's contemplating expression.

It didn't seem like . . . _that_ bad of an idea, Peridot thought. Thinking about holding hands with the woman, talking to her about her problems, watching a movie with her, _kissing_ her. A chill ran up her spine at the thought of it, but she followed along with what Jasper was saying. No, it didn't seem like dating someone so much older than her would be a good idea, probably wasn't too legal either, but Peridot found herself comfortable thinking of her professor, imagining what it would feel like to have her arms around her, whispering praise in her ear and telling her that- . . . Peridot shook her head and hid her face behind her hand. "I guess you're right." she lied.

"Good. Now stop being so mopey and how about we go see a movie or somethin'? There's a few good ones out right now, you know." She offered, taking another large gulp of her drink to finish it off.

Peridot smiled a bit at the idea, nodding as she sat up. "Alright, but I get to choose which one we see this time."

" _Mmm_ no you don't." Jasper stated, throwing Peridot a wicked grin as she rolled her eyes.

"Fine, but I'm sick of seeing those inspirational sports flicks. Choose something else this time, I don't care what."

Jasper set the cup in the sink, wiping her mouth with her arm. "Alright, as long as I get to choose it." She stated, walking over to the closet and grabbing her shoes. "Just make sure your ready in five or i'm leaving without you."

Peridot huffed as she got off the bed, heading into the bathroom to get ready.

Jasper pulled out her phone to check the movie schedules nearby, smirking as she tried to figure out which one would scare the shit out of Peridot the most.


	3. A Night Out

"No."

"Come on, Peridot!"

"No."

"This is the last time in a while, I promise!"

"Yeah, I believe that as much as I believe Jasper's a nice person."

_"Hey!"_

"Peridot!"

" _Fine_ fine. Just let me get ready. Go wait in the car."

Lapis and Jasper left the room with a soft click of the door. Peridot sighed as she threw on a dark green hoodie over her t-shirt and blue jean shorts. She unhappily tied the laces of her shoes, grumbling to herself about having to stop in the middle of studying to drive her friends to the bar.

This was an event that happened about one or two times a month, where Lapis and Jasper had some money saved up and were both in the mood to get a bit drunk. Unfortunately, they needed Peridot to be there to keep an eye on them and drive them home. Jasper was 23, Lapis was 22, but Peridot was only 20, meaning that she couldn't even join in and have a drink with them if she wanted to, which she didn't. _At all_. It was disgusting, pointless and expensive. It made people into slobbering, stumbling idiots and Peridot didn't understand the appeal of it, especially considering all the consequences that came with it. But nevertheless, she agreed to come along so that her friends didn't end up driving themselves into a backyard, or _worse_.

Peridot shivered at the thought and reminded herself that she was doing the right thing. And hey, at least she got a free soda out of it, she thought. Her friends would usually buy her some sort of food or a drink for her troubles, jokingly telling her how sorry they felt since she wasn't old enough to get drunk with them. Peridot scoffed but didn't complain, she got a free meal out of it, so it was called even between the three of them.

Peridot grabbed her key and locked the door behind her, making her way through the halls and outside to the parking lot, meeting her friends at Jasper's car, which was already pulled up next to the entrance.

"You all finished dolling up, pointy?" Jasper asked, smirking as Peridot rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, sure." she lazily replied, walking over to the car and joining the other two inside.

The three drove down the streets in the little red car, watching as blurred images of street lamps and trees passed through the windows. Jasper was driving with Lapis riding shotgun. Peridot was stuck in the backseat with all of Jasper's garbage, ranging from workout equipment and school papers to a dirty jacket and a pair of gym shoes. Peridot's face scrunched up in disgust as she leaned against the window to separate herself from the mess. She rested her head on the glass and watched as a few cars drove by, silently observing the people inside of them.

Jasper set the radio on scan as she drove down the road, occasionally scoffing at certain songs that played for a few seconds before disappearing into the endless jumble of radio stations.

 

_♪ Maybe you're better off with her . . . I think she's better for you- ♪_

_♪ What can I do for you . . . What can I do that no one- ♪_

_♪ If I could begin to be half of what you think of me- ♪_

 

Jasper let a small grin run across her face as a song she liked began to play. She pressed the scan button before it could skip over, resting her hand back onto the steering wheel.

 

_♪ And I'm never going down at the hands of the likes of you, because I'm so much better. ♪_

 

Jasper smirked and leaned over towards Lapis, who was currently staring out the window.

Lapis was a slim girl with brown skin, black hair and bright blue eyes, and tonight she wore a pair of light blue jeans and a dark blue crop top. Lapis lifted her head off her palm to take a look as Jasper, who was leaning in close to her and mimicking the words to the song playing on the radio.

 

_♪ And every part of me is saying go get her! The two of us ain't gonna follow your rules! ♪_

 

Lapis let out a small laugh, causing Jasper's grin to grow a little wider. She opened her mouth again and began to sing along to the song this time, making gestures at Lapis and earning a few more chuckles from the girl. Jasper was practically beaming once Lapis joined in and started singing along.

 

_♪ Let's go just one on two! Go ahead and try to hit me if you're able! Can't you see that my relationship is stable? ♪_

 

Peridot rolled her eyes before fixing them back to the window, ignoring the looks she was getting from the two, inviting her to sing along.

"I don't sing." She deadpanned.

"Come on, just one verse before it ends?" Lapis asked.

"Yeah, show us what your geeky nerd voice sounds like when you sing!" Jasper joked, grinning in rearview mirror back at Peridot.

"Okay, now I'm **_definitely_ ** not singing!"

 _"Jasper."_ Lapis warned, elbowing her in the arm.

Jasper looked back at Lapis with an eyebrow raised, grinning innocently down at her. "What? I didn't do anything! It's not my fault Peridork's got such a geeky voice."

 _"JASPER!_  " Peridot and Lapis yelled in unison. Jasper took her hands off the wheel and raised them in defense, smirking at the road ahead of her. "Woah! Kiddies are getting mad now! I'll tone it down a bit." she teased, taking ahold of the wheel and staring at a fuming Peridot in the rearview mirror. "Sorry about that, dorky."

"Yeah yeah, whatever." Peridot mumbled, crossing her arms and burrowing further back into her seat. "I don't care."

Lapis frowned back at Peridot, opening her mouth to say something before she felt the car come to a halt. She looked out the window to see the bar, bright and full of people. She heard Peridot groan in the backseat, and turned around to watch as she stepped out of the car, shutting the door behind her.

"Let's just get this over with."

 

~ ~ ~

 

"Thanks." Peridot said, watching as the two men who helped her carry her friends to the car walked back inside. Peridot sighed to herself before getting in the driver's seat, fishing Jasper's keys out of her pocket and starting it up.

Tonight had gone just like any other night. Lapis and Jasper drank their share of alcohol, drunkenly conversed, flirted and danced along with the strangers who found themselves drunk enough to join in. It was one of those rare nights when Jasper and Lapis were both too intoxicated to keep conscious. Peridot had to ask some guys in the bar for help bringing her friends out to the car. Peridot could just barely handle carrying Lapis, but Jasper? That was another story.

Peridot started up the car before backing it out, pulling out of the parking lot and heading in the direction of the college campus. She glanced back at Jasper through the mirror. Still knocked out. Peridot sighed and stopped the car at a red light, taking the chance to rub her eyes from behind her glasses. She'd take Lapis back to her dorm first. Hopefully in the time it would take to get Lapis there, Jasper would be awake and able to walk herself inside. If not, Peridot would have to try and wake her up. She frowned at the thought. Trying to wake Jasper up was like trying to pet a bull. Peridot would have to go through another round of dodging punches or trying to keep the tall girl steady as she walked in the building. She loathed the idea of going through that routine again. She couldn't always dodge the punches, and one time, Jasper passed out halfway to the dorm and fell ontop of her.

Peridot spent that night in the hallway, crushed and waiting for help to come from some random passerby.

Maybe she would just leave Jasper to sleep in the car tonight.

Peridot pulled up into Jasper's regular parking space, turning off the engine before stepping out onto the pavement, circling around the vehicle to get to Lapis's door, opening it up and gently slipping her out of her seat.

It wasn't the first time she had to carry Lapis back inside. Peridot wasn't that strong, and at first, she had a hard time keeping herself from just dragging the girl back to her room. But after a few times of carrying the girl, Peridot found the task becoming easier and easier. She could carry Lapis the whole way without threatening to drop her anymore. It gave her a good excuse to pass up Jasper's offers of going to the gym too. Whenever Jasper would ask, Peridot would simply state that she was getting a fine work out carrying their drunken asses back to the dorms. Peridot often joked that one day, she'd be able to carry Jasper back without a stranger's help. This was often responded with a scoff and some sort of insult, but although she'd never admit it, Jasper was a little proud of her roommate for little muscle she gained through the task. No, she'd never be able to lift her, but it was funny to watch her dream about it.

Peridot slowly made her way down the halls until reaching Lapis's door. She struggled to get her hand free to knock on it without dropping Lapis. She waited for her roommate to open the door, like usual, but no one came.

Peridot's eyebrows furrowed as she knocked on the door again, this time a little louder. Still nothing.

Lapis stirred in Peridot's arms, causing Peridot to panic and almost lose her grip. She pulled her hand away from the door to get a better hold on Lapis, looking down at her in annoyance.

"She didn't tell me her roommate wouldn't be home tonight!" Peridot hissed under her breath. She got to her knees and gently set Lapis down on the floor, sticking her hands inside of Lapis's pockets.

Lapis opened her eyes, half lidded and glazed with the effects of the alcohol in her system. She wasn't asleep, but to say that she was awake wouldn't be right either.

"Hey, Lapis." Peridot said quietly. Lapis's eyes moved to look up at Peridot.

"Hey, I need your key. Do you have it on you?" She asked. Peridot watched as Lapis's mind took a moment to grasp the question. Once she seemed to understand, she drunkenly tried to sit up, propping herself up on one arm as her other hand fished around the inside of her shirt, pulling out a warm, sweaty key from inside it.

"Heres ya go." She slurred, watching as Peridot took the piece of metal in horror.

"You keep your dorm key in your bra!?" Peridot yelled, shocked and obviously disgusted at having to touch the thing.

Lapis didn't respond, and only stared up at her as if she hadn't asked a question at all. Peridot sighed and got to her feet, unlocking the door with the warm key before handing it back to Lapis, who simply let it fall through her fingers and onto the floor.

Peridot groaned and kneeled back down, picking up the key and holding it back out for Lapis. Lapis just stared at it for a moment before she looked down at her chest, awkwardly fumbling with her shirt to pull it out, looking back up at Peridot expectantly.

Peridot's face heated up before she backed up a bit, looking a Lapis with sheer horror. " _What!?_ I'm not dropping it back in there!" She yelled, earning a loud thud from one of the other dorm rooms, reminding her that it was late and other people were sleeping.

Peridot looked back at Lapis, who hadn't moved an inch from that position. She groaned and crawled forward, closing her eyes when she got too close, and dropping the key quickly before yanking her hand away, as if it had just been touched by something scolding. "There, it's in. Happy now?" She asked. Lapis smiled and let go of her shirt, attempting to stand on her feet with some difficulty.

Peridot sighed and stood up, wrapping an arm underneath Lapis's and walking her back into the room, flipping on a lightswitch along the way. She sat Lapis down on her bed with a huff, taking a seat next to her for a moment to calm down and relax. The next time she opened her eyes, she found Lapis staring at her, her deep blue eyes wide and focused intently on Peridot's face. Peridot jumped and fell back onto the bed, groaning in pain as she hit her head against the wooden frame. "Damnit Lapis! Don't do tha-"

"Peridot." Lapis whispered, causing Peridot to look up at her friend, who was now inches away from her face. Her eyes were nearly closed and her breath smelled sickly of wine. She could feel the unnerving amount of warmth radiating between their faces as Lapis tried to lean all the way in.

Peridot's face reddened as she let out a loud, sqeaky gasp. She quickly slipped off the bed and onto the floor, getting to her feet and backing away before Lapis could process what happened. When she did though, she stared up at Peridot, whose face was beat red with an expression of utter embarrassment. Lapis went to stand up again and walk towards her, but she quickly stumbled and landed on her roommate's bed, letting out a soft moan of discomfort.

Peridot frowned and walked over to Lapis, helping her back up and sitting her down on her own bed. Peridot pulled back the covers and gently pushed Lapis's shoulders down, making her lay down in the bed before she wrapped the covers back around her.

Peridot stared down at her friend, who'd now closed her eyes and began to breath deeply. Peridot took that as her sign to leave, shutting off the lights and making her way to the door.

"I love you." Lapis murmured into the blanket.

Peridot froze in place, staring back at the bed for a few moments in utter silence. When Lapis didn't say anything else, Peridot ran a hand through her hair and sighed. It was just something Lapis would say when she was drunk. It was normal and it didn't mean anything. It was just the alcohol talking.

Peridot shut the door to the room, plunging it into darkness as Lapis drifted into sleep inside.


	4. Need A Lift?

"You stupid piece of garbage _whywon'tyoustartw **orking!?!?"**_   Peridot yelled, her angry words becoming jumbled together as she did so, creating lines of sentences that were turned into gibberish.

Her car refused to start up and she couldn't figure out what the hell was wrong with it. It would sputter for a few seconds every time she turned the key, but that was it. She couldn't get it to start up anymore than that.

She kicked at the wheel before plopping down on the pavement, pouting as she glared daggers at the abominable machine in front of her.

_"No good archaic piece of-"_

"Peridot?"

Peridot froze, quickly turning her head around to the voice, finding herself watching Professor Diamond closing her car door and approaching her.

"What in the world are you doing?" She asked in a dull voice, as if walking into a child's bedroom to find them making a mess.

Peridot's face became uncomfortably warm, and she immediately picked herself off the ground to face her teacher.

"P-professor Diamond!" she stuttered "I-I'm just- My car just- It um - I can't get it to start up." she explained, a little shakier than she wished she would have.

Her teacher glanced back at the vehicle behind her, looking it up and down before looking back at Peridot, who was nervously knitting her fingers together, much like she did before in class.

Professor Diamond exhaled before gently folding her arms, crossing them in front of her chest. "Do you need a ride home?" She asked. Peridot stared up at the woman in disbelief. A ride? From her professor? Just them, in a car, _together?_

Peridot eyes had grown uncomfortably large before she finally responded, nodding her head quickly in excitement.

"Y-yes, ma'am."

The teacher nodded and glanced back at her car, a small, white vehicle parked closely behind her.

"Wait in my car. I need to go inside and pick up a phone charger." She said, turning her attention back to Peridot. "I didn't know you worked at the electronics store."

Peridot stared down at her blue t-shirt and nametag in embarrassment, quickly removing the tag from around her neck and offering her teacher a sheepish smile.

"Oh. I-I'm um . . . I'm um, good with computers." She mumbled, glancing up at her professor with a hint of pride hidden in her expression.

Professor Diamond simply nodded, mumbling a quiet "I see" before patting Peridot's shoulder, walking past her to head inside. "I'll be out in a minute." She stated, disappearing into the building and leaving Peridot alone in the parking lot. She immediately looked at her shoulder once she left, feeling a warm, giddy smile spread across her face at the contact she was just given.

She stared back at her professor's car, feeling almost too excited to make herself get inside of it. She took a deep breath and convinced herself to walk over to it, staring at the inside through the windows.

 _'Do I get in the front seat, or the backseat?'_ she wondered, contemplating her options as her heartbeat pounded in her ears. _'Oh fuck it.'_ she thought _'I'm not passing up this type of chance.'_

Peridot opened up the passenger's side door, glancing back at the building's entrance before stepping inside, taking a seat and closing the door.

The first thing that hit her was the strong scent of perfume. It was bitter and smelled of metal and flowers, causing Peridot to cough a bit after getting a strong nose full of it. The second thing that hit her was how small the car was. It was an extremely, _extremely_ nice car, although it didn't seem like more than four people could fit inside of it comfortably. Peridot figured that Professor Diamond just didn't ride with other people that often.

She waited in the car for a couple of minutes, silence ringing in her ears as she tapped her fingers across her knees.

She was in her car.

She was in teacher's car and she was going to take a drive with her.

She was going to abandon her own car at work to be alone, driving with her teacher in her blue fucking work uniform. 

How the hell did this happen again?

Peridot bit her lip as she waited for her teacher to come back, a small feeling of relief rushing over her when she saw her walking up to the car in the rearview mirror. She had a heavy feeling of intrusion in her stomach as she sat in the vehicle, feeling as if she was inside it without permission, so when her professor took a seat in the car and asked if she was ready to go, Peridot felt more than relieved to say that she was.

The professor started up the car, pulling out of the parking lot and down the road, heading in the direction of the college.

"How's your paper coming along?" She asked casually, trying to create small talk with her student.

"Oh uhm . . . it's fine, ma'am. I'm a-almost done with it."

She never started on it.

Her teacher nodded her head, focusing on the road and leaving the two in a heavy silence.

Peridot began to feel dizzy. The scent of perfume mixed with the unbearable feeling of heat on her face and silence in her ears was enough to make her feel like she was going to pass out. Luckily, the silence was broken by the sound of a ringing phone, to which Professor Diamond pulled out of her pocket and answered.

"Hello?" she said.

Peridot could hear to faint sound of a person on the other end of the conversation. She couldn't make out what they were saying, but she strained herself to listen to the low murmur of the voice, just to have something to keep her from being plunged back into the uncomfortable silence again.

The professor sighed. "Alright. I'll be there in five minutes. Just keep it there and don't send it off again." she said in a weary, slightly annoyed tone. She ended the call and slipped her phone back into her pocket, pulling the car into a nearby parking lot in order to turn around.

"I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to make a stop really quickly." She said "The post office and I have been chasing eachother around for my package all week. They try to deliver it while I'm at work, so they're constantly leaving notes on my door saying to come pick it up. Then everytime I go to pick it up, they say it's already on route to my house again. Then by time I get back to my house I've missed them." She complained, letting out an annoyed sigh as she closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "As you can see, I _really_ need to pick this up before they start this nonsense again."

Peridot nodded, offering her a friendly smile. "D-don't worry about it, I don't mind! I'll go wherever you need to go! We can even pick up your groceries if you want!"

Professor Diamond seemed to be too spaced out in her own stressful thoughts to have heard Peridot's bizarre comment. She simply muttered a _'thank you for understanding'_ as she continued to drive, pulling up to the post office a few minutes later.

She got out of the car without directing Peridot to either stay in the car or follow her inside. Peridot sat there awkwardly, looking in the rearview mirror as Professor Diamond walked away, stopping for a moment to look back to the car at Peridot. Peridot cursed to herself as she frantically undid her buckle, throwing open the car door and running up behind her professor to catch up, giving her an awkward smile. Before she could have a chance to explain herself, her teacher was already back to walking inside, pulling open the door and entering into the building. Peridot quickly followed in behind her, scanning the room as they walked inside, finding that the line directly in front of them was rather long. About 7 people were waiting to be helped with their mail.

Peridot stared up at her teacher as she let out a groan, glaring at the line ahead of them with her yellow eyes. _"Goddamn it."_ she whispered under her breath, glancing back at Peridot with a frown. "You don't have plans to be anywhere, do you?" she asked. Peridot shook her head, and Professor Diamond walked up to the line with a huff, crossing her arms and waiting for her turn.

Peridot frowned at the woman, feeling bad for her, yet also feeling a bit awkward being around her in such an upset state.

A few minutes went by and the line hadn't moved in the slightest. 

"What the hell is going on up there." The teacher muttered, taking a step to the side to see what was going on at the front of the line. Peridot watched before copying the action, closing in on the conversation happening upfront.

"Sir, I just want to know where my package is." said an older woman, her tone filled with anger and annoyance. The person behind the counter seemed to be in a nervous sweat, frantically clicking on something on the computer screen. "Yes, ma'am. We're aware of that and we're trying to figure that out for you, but we're having some computer difficulties at the moment." he explained, biting the inside of his cheek before facing the woman, a look of desperation on his face.

"Unbelievable." she stated, crossing her arms before going into a rant. "It's _your_ job to get my package where it needs to be and to _know_   where it is in order to get it there safely! What kind of post office can't even keep track of the mail it's supposed to be sending!" she yelled, causing a few of the people behind her to murmur to each other. The employee became even more panicked at this. "Miss, _please_ , we're doing our best to-"

 _"Hey!"_ Peridot called loudly, causing both the woman and the employee to stare back at her, the woman with a not-so-kind expression on her face.

"Y-yes, can I help you?" The man asked. Peridot walked up to the counter, putting herself in between the upset woman and employee. "What's wrong with the computer?" she demanded.

The man blinked, frowning and turning the screen slightly so that Peridot could see. "There's this box that won't let me exit out of it. I can't minimize it or go to a new tab or get to the start button to shut it down either." he stated. The woman behind Peridot tapped at her shoulder, and Peridot turned around to face her unpleasant expression.

" _Excuse me,_ but I was in line here first, and I don't-" Peridot cut her off with a strict _"Can it."_ before turning back to the counter, ignoring the offended look that the woman was now giving her. 

"Alright, listen and listen closely. This is what you need to do." Peridot said, leading the man with the proper directions of how to fix the machine, getting it up and functional again within a matter of minutes.

The look of relief that passed over the employee's face made Peridot grin. She walked off past the man and the upset woman, ignoring the employee's thanks in favor of throwing a wicked smirk at the woman before taking her place back at her professor's side, who looked down at her with a slightly surprised expression.

"Well, you handled that well." She stated, a small look of impression on her face. Peridot fumbled with her shirt, a small frown now on her face. "A lot of people are too stupid to know how to fix simple computer problems. That was a child's errand! I've done hacking jobs easier than that!" she said, letting out a huff at the stupidity she felt from all the people she helped at work. Professor Diamond raised a brow at this, staring down at her student with newfound surprise. "You hack computers?" 

Peridot blushed, staring at her feet with an odd grin on her face. "I mean, just small things like people's website accounts and things like that. I could probably do a lot more if somethings weren't so . . . illegal." she stated, letting out a small laugh as she looked up at her teacher, who was now smiling for the first time that day.

"Interesting. I didn't know such a young person could do something like that." she stated, causing Peridot's blush to increase. "Well I uh . . . I basically grew up playing around on computers. My dad knew how to do a bunch of stuff like that so . . . I guess I just . . . learned how to do it." she explained dumbly. She'd usually be one to brag about her computer knowledge to anyone who would bring it up, but around her professor, she felt a little more . . . sheepish. How could she brag about herself to someone so much more _perfect?_

Her professor nodded, and after a few more minutes of waiting, and another round of thanks from the employee, Professor Diamond had her package and they were out the door, driving off back to the college.

The professor stopped her car at a red light, taking the chance to pull down her mirror and apply a new layer lipstick. From the corner of her eye, she caught Peridot staring at her before quickly darting her head, a shade of pink dusting her cheeks.

Professor Diamond smirked at this, rolling up the tube of makeup and setting it back down inside of her purse. 

"You know, Peridot is an awfully long name. Would you mind if I called you Peri instead?" 

Peridot almost had to throw a hand over her face to hide her blush, staring at her professor with wide eyes. _"P-p-peri?"_   she stammered.

"If you don't like it . . ." she started, grinning as Peridot cut her off.

"No! Of course I like it! I like it a _lot_ , actually!" she blurted.

"Oh, well that's good." her professor said with a smile. 

Peridot sat back in her seat and repeated the nickname over and over again in her head. She felt butterflies in her stomach each time she repeated the word, a large smile growing on her face in the process. Peridot opened her mouth to speak, but Professor Diamond beat her to it.

"Jaune." 

Peridot blinked, giving her teacher a confused expression. "What?"

"My name, it's Jaune." She repeated, smiling over at Peridot. "It's French for yellow."

Peridot's eyes flicked down to her necklace before looking up at her face, nodding slightly.

"You can call me by that if you'd like. Outside of school, of course." She added. Peridot felt a nervous smile growing on her face as she nodded again, testing out the name and committing it to memory by repeating it a few times.

_"Jaune, Jaune, Jaune. . ."_

A few moments later, they arrived outside of the dorm rooms, and Peridot climbed out of the car, giving her teacher a small smile. "Thank you for the ride profes- I- I mean Jaune." she stammered. Jaune nodded back with a smile, casually waving her goodbye. "I'll see you on Monday, Peri." she stated smoothly, driving off and away from the campus, leaving Peridot on the pavement with a shiver running up her spine at the nickname, grasping at the walls for balance as she headed inside the building, finding the door to her room and stepping inside.

Inside, Jasper sat at on the couch eating dinner. A half eaten box of pizza was sitting on the table with a liter of cola sitting next to it. Jasper raised her head to look at Peridot as she came in the door, throwing her and curious and confused look as she bit off a piece of her pizza. "Hey, where the hell were you? I almost decided to just go ahead and eat your half." she admitted, watching as Peridot closed the door and dropped her bag at the end of her bed. She was too excited to eat and probably too nervous to keep it down if she did. She shrugged off Jasper's comment and plopped down on her bed, letting out a sigh and closing her eyes. 

"I don't care. Go ahead and eat it if you want. I'm not hungry."

Jasper raised an eyebrow but didn't complain, grabbing another slice out of the box and setting it on her plate. "Whatever. So where were you?" she asked again. Peridot smiled and simply told her that she'd explain later, throwing an arm over her face and taking a sniff of the sleeve.

It smelled like metal and flowers. Peridot grinned, sitting up on the bed and walking into the bathroom to take a shower, leaving her roommate confused and with an extra half of pizza. Jasper let out a gruff sigh as she closed the pizza box, walking over to the mini fridge and sticking it inside.

"Weirdo."


	5. Work and Walks

Peridot groggily took a sip of coffee from her thermos. Her eyes were tired and drooping, but managing to stay focused on Professor Diamond as she explained assignment requirements at the front of the classroom.

It had been two days since her professor had given her the ride home, and not much had happened since then. Peridot's car was brought into the shop, and would be ready for pick up tomorrow morning. It was apparently being kept for so long because there were _'a few other things'_ that the shop wanted to fix up. It was more than likely just a small, unneeded fix up solely done to get the shop a little extra money. However, since Peridot's dad was paying for the fix, Peridot didn't raise any questions, and left her vehicle in the shop to do as they pleased to it. As long as it was going to be up and working soon, she didn't care what they did.

Once Peridot drifted out of thoughts of her car, she nearly choked on her coffee when she found that her professor's eyes were on her, and a small smile was graced over her lips. It had only happened twice, this being the second time, but Professor Diamond was giving Peridot looks and smiles while teaching. Peridot didn't understand, did the one car ride suddenly make them friends? Because Jaune never gave out random smiles in the middle of teaching.

Although both times it happened, it rendered Peridot unable to think straight. Her cheeks burned under the yellow eyes, and she couldn't make out the words her teacher was saying. She could only hear the steady drawl of her voice lecturing on about the subject. Words didn't make sense but the _sound_ of her voice was music. Peridot never wanted her to stop talking, because she could have fallen asleep to that voice.

Inevitably, to Peridot's disliking, Jaune eventually stopped. She dismissed the class and walked over to her desk, taking a seat in silence as the noisy chatter of college kids filled the room again.

Peridot sighed before making her way down the steps, reaching the floor and sparing a glance over at her teacher. After Peridot realized her teacher was solely focused on writing down grades and errors on assignments, she walked out of the classroom, butterflies in her stomach and disappointment in her chest.

Who the hell was she kidding? She was getting too deep into hopeful thinking. The professor was just that, her professor. It wasn't as if the two of them were going hangout or talk everyday just because of one generous car ride that Peridot was _lucky_ to have gotten in the first place.

Peridot sighed, rubbing her eyes from behind her glasses. At least she had gotten what she wanted. She was noticed by the woman, she was given attention from her, and she was complimented on her computer skills. That was all Peridot had wanted. She just wished it would've lasted a little longer instead of just one afternoon.

But, maybe it still had a chance to? Sure, it was only two small glances, but maybe they meant something? Maybe Jaune was _noticing_ her above all the other students. Peridot could be a step above all the rest of them. Two small glances. They were something. Peridot wanted more than that, but still. They were something.

 

~ ~ ~

 

Peridot dragged her feet along the sidewalk on her way home from work. She was mentally and physically exhausted from helping customers and standing on her feet all day.

First off, there was her co-worker, _Pearl_.

Pearl, Peridot admitted, was a nice and helpful person, but she and Peridot seemed to constantly get themselves into arguments about anything and everything. Most commonly, how Peridot organized inventory and display shelves. There would always be _something_ wrong with they way that she did it. _This laptop was crooked_ or _these supply boxes weren't stacked correctly_. Peridot thought she did a _fine_ job organizing but _no_ , Pearl would always have some sort of complaint about the way she did things. It came to the point where whenever Peridot was assigned to organize or even up clean something, be it the floor or display phone screens, Pearl would convince her to trade jobs so that she could do it herself, just to avoid later arguments and frustration. Peridot was fine with the idea, however, this left her to deal with twice the number of customers than she usually would have beforehand. That meant dealing with people she didn't want to talk to about phone prices, colors, and the occasional computer problem she found herself bored to death fixing. 

The only good part about her day happened to be Pearl's friend. Amethyst was her name if she remembered right. She came in to talk to Pearl, asking her for help with some sort of prank that she wanted to pull on someone. Pearl of course refused, and when she did, Amethyst turned to Peridot, asking if she could help her pull off the prank. Peridot had absolutely nothing better to do while she was stuck there for a few more hours. The prank required a bit of hacking to be done, and Peridot found that it would be a nice break as opposed to sitting in the break room by herself. She agreed to help her once she went on break, so that she could leave the store to avoid being caught doing something so _'irresponsible and childish'_ , as Pearl called it.

They got the job done, and although Peridot found Pearl's friend to be a little too . . . extroverted for her liking, she appreciated the fun little task she brought her to do, and offered her help in any future jobs she needed help doing.

Then it was back to helping idiots.

Peridot huffed as she wearily trudged along, wiping sweat from her forehead as she slicked her hair back a little. This was the last time she'd have to walk home before her car was fixed, she reminded herself. It was hot and tiring and still about a 20 minute walk back, but it was the last time she'd have to to it. A few minutes went by before she noticed a familiar white car slowly pull up next to her, the windows rolled down to reveal the confused face of her professor.

"Peridot? Where are you headed?" she asked. Peridot looked at her in surprise, a small smile spreading across her face as she got closer to the car to avoid shouting from the sidewalk. "J-just back to the college." she said, a little excitement edged into her voice.

"Is your car still having problems?"

Peridot nodded.

Jaune smiled faintly, unlocking the car and patting the seat next to her. "Hop in. I'll give you a ride back."

Peridot practically beamed at this, leaving behind her bitter thoughts of work and leg pain on the sidewalk as she got into the car, closing the door behind her as they drove off.

The strong, bitter scent of perfume hit her again, but this time she welcomed it, and inhaled it contently. She closed her eyes to enjoy the fact that she was next to her teacher again. She didn't care how Jaune saw her or why she even bothered to help her out again. Her hands felt sweaty and shaky and she couldn't tell if it was from the weather or from the feeling of being so close to such a beautiful woman like Jaune. The butterflies in her stomach almost felt too overwhelming for her to handle, but she was happy. She felt like she was going to throw up, but she was _happy_.

The car ride was rather silent, other than the quiet music that Jaune had playing on the radio. They made small talk twice about Peridot's job and school work, and before Peridot knew it, she was being dropped off, waving goodbye to Jaune as she smiled and drove away.

Peridot didn't know where she stood with the woman now, but she knew that she was pretty damn happy to be there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there. :)  
> I really hope you're enjoying the story so far, and i'm so sorry that this chapter wasn't very interesting.  
> The next ones will be much better, I promise.
> 
> Thank you for reading, and I hope you liked this chapter. :)


	6. The Dinner Date

Peridot leaned back on her pillows and adjusted her glasses, smiling a little as she texted Lapis about how her car was doing since getting it back from the shop.

She was relieved that she wouldn't be forced to walk anymore, but at the same time, she was disappointed that she wouldn't be getting anymore ride offers from Jaune. She left that part out of her phone conversation with Lapis, and instead began talking to her about trivial things, such as homework assignments, dinner plans (which was Chinese for Peridot and pizza for Lapis), and how badly they just wanted to stay home from work and school in favor of just sleeping.

Peridot sighed as she slipped on her shoes, texting Lapis that she had to go to pick up the Chinese for her and Jasper. Lapis sent back a message with a quick goodbye and a frowny face. Peridot rolled her eyes at it before sticking her phone in her pocket and grabbing her car keys.

Peridot jumped with a yelp as a knock on the door caused her to drop the keys, she grumbled and swiped them off the floor, walked over to the door and answered it with a look of annoyance written on her face.

 _"What do you want?"_ she demanded, her eyes growing wide and her face growing pale as she took notice of who she was talking to.

Jaune stood in the doorframe, looking down at Peridot with a small, lovely smile. She was wearing a pair of black dress pants and a gray, v-neck tank top with a shawl collar. A black belt wrapped around her waist, matching the color of her black shoes.

Her signature yellow diamond necklace hung from her neck.

Peridot found her legs heavy and weighed down to the spot. Her face felt hot as she nervously stared up at her teacher, who looked even more breathtaking and lovely than she did in her casual teaching attire.

"H . . .Hi." she said dumbly, staring wide-eyed at the woman looking down at her.

Jaune smiled. "Hello Peridot. How are you?"

"I . . . I'm . . . fine, thanks." Peridot responded, nervousness edged into her voice. "Di-did you need something?"

"I just wanted to make you aware that if you ever have car troubles again, you're more than welcome to ask me for a ride. It's too hot out for you to be taking such long walks." She stated, giving Peridot a friendly smile.

Peridot nodded, finding her heart beat to be obnoxiously loud in her ears. "Thank you, ma-mam. But uhm . . . I just got my car back. I don't need anymore rides." Peridot explained, disappointment weighing heavily in her chest. It was so nice being in that car with her, just the two of them, the scent of her perfume, music . . . Maybe she could break something in her car on purpose. Just once. Just for one more ride with- . . .

Peridot swallowed thickly, finding that her mouth was becoming dry very quickly. "B-but uhm, thank you for the offer, Professor Diamond."

"Please, call me Jaune." She offered kindly.

Peridot nodded, red spreading over her face in embarrassment. "R-right. Jaune. Sorry."

Momentary silence fell over the two before Jaune spoke up again.

"Is your roommate home?" She asked. Peridot watched as Jaune's bright eyes flicked to the corners of the room, answering the question for herself before taking a step inside.

"N-no." Peridot stammered, taking a step back to allow Jaune to enter. "She's at the gym right now, but she'll be-"

 _"Peri."_ Juane breathed, cool and smooth and in such a deep tone that Peridot choked on her words and stopped talking.

_What was she talking about again?_

Jaune placed a hand on Peridot's shoulder, her thumb gently brushing the smooth skin of her neck. Peridot could feel her heart pulse in her throat as harsh shiver ran up her spine. She wanted to speak up and respond to her teacher, but her current state of cottonmouth only allowed her to mouth the word 'yes?' rather than verbally say it.

"Why don't you come over for dinner?" she smiled, lifting her hand off Peridot's shoulder and lowering it back down to her side. "My dinner guest cancelled on me last minute. I'm in need of company and I thought that it'd be nice if you could take her place. I figured you college kids don't get very much real food, and this should be a nice treat for you after going through all your car troubles."

Peridot couldn't believe what she was hearing. First she got a ride, no, _two_ rides home from her professor, and now she was being invited over to her house? It was surreal to her. Thing's like this didn't just happen. Students and teachers didn't just 'hang out', and when or if they did, wasn't it labeled as inappropriate? God, but Miss Diamond was . . . she wanted her over for dinner. What was so wrong about having dinner? Jasper would be pissed if there wasn't any Chinese in the fridge when she got home. Maybe she could still pick some up after having dinner with Jaune? Maybe she could- . . .

Peridot was tugged from her thoughts by a soft hand under her chin, lifting her gaze from the floor to a pair of bright eyes.

"Peri, are you listening?" Jaune asked, her tone soft and smooth.

"I-I don't know if . . . I mean, I **_want_ ** to but I don't know if . . . wouldn't it be . . . weird, if we did?" Peridot asked, stammering and desperately averting her attention to anything other than her yellow eyes.

"What's so weird about coming over for a casual dinner? You are a young adult now, Peri. You make your own choices, and you are old enough to be around whomever you chose, including me."

Peridot fixed her gaze to the carpet. Jaune was right. Peridot was old enough to make her own decisions. If she wanted to go out to dinner with her teacher, then she had every right to! She could do what she wanted, she wasn't some little kid talking to a stranger.

Jaune frowned and traced her hand up Peridot's jaw, gently cupping her cheek. Peridot snapped out of her thoughts and looked back to Jaune's face, immediately going stiff from catching sight of her eyes, dangerously close and locked onto her own.

Jaune allowed a small smile to grace her lips as she gently brought Peridot's face closer, staring at her eyes and speaking in a breathy whisper.

"Don't you think you deserve a nice dinner?"

Peridot's face burned with color. She sucked in the little air that she could and nodded, too cotton mouth for speech and too focused on gold to focus on a reply.

Jaune smiled and let her hand drop from Peridot's face. She took a step back into the doorframe and grinned. "Wonderful." she stated pleasantly, "Let's head down to my car. I hope you like pot roast."

 

~ ~ ~

 

The drive to Jaune's house was short and quiet as the two listened to the sound of cars and crickets outside. Peridot's heart hammered in her chest the whole time, still shocked to find herself in Jaune's car, driving to her house, for dinner, alone. She repeatedly dug her nails into her palm to make sure she wasn't just stuck in some sort of messed up daydream or fantasy. She felt the pain but she still felt detached from reality. Was this actually happening?

The bitter scent in the car comforted Peridot in accepting that she was in the real world. She glanced over at Jaune to see her face lit up in the orange afternoon sunlight. She stared at the road, a focused yet bored expression on her face. She looked so surreal, so professional, so content. There was a small sparkle in her eyes that matched the sparkle of her necklace, and Peridot found herself forcing her eyes off the woman before she could take note of her staring.

Peridot's eyes were wide, fixated on Jaune's house the moment they pulled into her driveway.

It was a very, _very_ beautiful home that looked to be a little large for just one person. The home was covered in gray and tan stone and large, beautifully clear windows displayed the furniture inside. The home had flat roofs rather than pointed ones, adding to its sophisticated appearance. The portions of the house that weren't covered in stone were painted a creamy white, matching similar color of the driveway and sidewalk.

Jaune smiled a little as she watched Peridot's wide, green eyes scan over her home. She gave the girl a moment to stare before tapping her shoulder and snapping her out of her thoughts.

"It's much nicer inside." Jaune stated, exiting the car and leaving Peridot to quickly do the same, following the woman inside of the house. Jaune unlocked the door and flipped on a few light switches, walking comfortably into her home and into the kitchen.

"I'm going to finish up dinner preparations. Feel free to take a look around." she said simply, disappearing through one of the doorframes.

Peridot stood in awe inside of the home. The walls were painted a mild shade of yellow, while picture frames, mirrors and small objects hung neatly on certain parts of the walls. The floor seemed to be dark hardwood everywhere except for the living room, which was resting on it's own patch of fuzzy white carpet. Peridot took off her shoes before walking into the living room, finding herself rather comfortable by the fireplace, staring up at the photographs and small statues resting on top of it.

Unlike the photos of landscapes and flowers that hung around the rest of the home, the fireplace had personal photos sitting on top of it. A few seemed to be pictures of Jaune's parents and friends, and Peridot found herself smiling at a photo of what was supposedly Jaune as a little kid, standing next to three other girls who she seemed to be very close to. She looked up at the wrinkly, smiling faces of what she guessed were Jaune's parents, taking a moment to acknowledge just how elegant they were both dressed in the photograph. Peridot wondered if Jaune was apart of some rich family, but shrugged it off by assuming that she probably was. Her house was all the evidence Peridot needed to support that thought. Her eyes flicked around the room, and a bright, silver picture frame on one of the end tables caught her eye. She walked over to it and studied the photograph inside, finding herself interested and curious about it.

Jaune walked into the room a few seconds later, walking over to Peridot with a smile. "I'm assuming you like it?" she asked. Peridot turned around, seemingly lost by the question before it clicked in her mind. She smiled and nodded, looking around the house in awe once again. "It's amazing!" she said, earning herself another smile from her professor.

"I'm glad you like it." she said, glancing at the frame in Peridot's hands. "Did you find something interesting?"

Peridot nodded, giving the picture another glance before looking back at Jaune.

"Um, Jaune?"

"Yes?"

"Who's in this picture with you?" Peridot asked, pointing a finger to the photo of a younger Jaune, smiling and standing next to a woman with long, thick curls of pink hair, obviously dyed from the dark roots at the top of her head. She looked absolutely gorgeous and giddy, as if she would begin laughing at any moment through the glass in the frame. It was contagious and almost made Peridot want to break out into a smile.

Peridot waited for a response, but after she didn't get one, she looked up to find Jaune glaring at the photo, seeming to be biting her tongue inside her mouth. She exhaled before calmly taking the photo from Peridot's hands, setting it face down back on the end table.

"Family." She stated in a gentle, yet cold tone before making her way back into the kitchen. "Dinner's ready, by the way." she added. Peridot frowned, giving one last glance to the frame before following her professor into the kitchen, hoping to herself that she hadn't just majorly screwed something up.

Peridot scanned over the table once she walked into the room. It was a long, glass table with two plates set out for them. The pot roast sat in the middle of the table, a small plate of rolls accompanying it on the side, along with a small bowl of butter to go with it.

Peridot's eyes grew a little wider. She hadn't seen such nice looking food since she was back at home for the holidays. She waited for Jaune to invite her to sit down before she did so. They sat at opposite sides of the table, and Jaune began cutting into the meat while Peridot grabbed herself a roll.

"Do you eat like this every night?" Peridot asked, taking of a bite of the bread.

Jaune smiled and let out a small chuckle. "No, not all the time. I usually only make something small like pasta or a steak, but since I was planning on company, I cooked up something a little more special." she explained, setting a large chunk of meat of Peridot's plate before scooping out a few cooked carrots and small potatoes from the pot.

Peridot's mouth watered at the food, and she didn't waste a second before immediately cutting it apart, stuffing it into her mouth greedily. "Oh my gosh." she said with a mouthful of meat "This is incredible!"

Jaune smiled as she filled up her own plate, taking a seat and beginning to cut apart her food. "I'm glad you like it, Peri." she said pleasantly, taking a bite of a small potato.

The two sat in silence for a few moments, enjoying the food and occasionally grabbing another roll or piece of the meat.

Peridot swallowed a mouthful before speaking up again. "So, who's the clod that cancelled on you?" she asked. Whoever it was, Peridot thought, was pretty stupid to pass up a dinner like this.

Jaune swallowed a bite of bread, wiping the butter off of her fingers with a napkin as she responded. "One of my sisters." she stated.

Peridot nodded, poking at one of the carrots with her fork. "What an idiot." Peridot said bluntly, shoving the carrot into her mouth.

Jaune ignored the rude comment, putting on a smile as she set her napkin down. "No, she's actually one of the better sisters I have." she stated "If you wanted to meet an idiot, you'd look at my sister Rose."

Peridot raised an eyebrow, looking at her professor curiously. "Rose?"

Jaune nodded, a neutral expression on her face. "The woman in the photo you asked me about."

Peridot's eyes widened a little, coughing a bit after taking a sip of water. "That was your sister!?" she asked in shock.

Jaune nodded again, picking her plate up off of the table and walking over to the sink. "Yes. Emphasis on _' was'_." she stated coldly. Peridot watched as Jaune began cleaning up the table. Peridot stood to help, but Jaune raised a hand before she could, stating that she was a guest and didn't have to help. Peridot sat back down in her seat, watching as Jaune rinsed off the dishes before sticking them in the dishwasher.

"So, what happened then? Why _'was'_ she your sister?" Peridot asked.

Jaune shrugged, pulling out a tupperware container to put the rest of the roast in. "Family differences. She didn't have the same values as the rest of us did. Ended up leaving the family and running off with some man. Greg, I believe his name was." Jaune sighed "We haven't heard from her in over 5 years. Not that we want to, of course. She threw away her home for some strange man and left us without so much as a goodbye."

Peridot frowned at the story, intertwining her fingers and looking at Jaune sadly. "Jeez. She sounds like a real jerk."

Jaune shook her head. "She was . . . kind. She was strong willed, and she had a large heart."   She set the now empty pot in the sink with a _clank_    "But she didn't see things the way the rest of us did. She was too concerned with the well being of others. She was such a respectable woman . . . but we lost all respect for her once she left. Our family was never the same after that." she stated, picking up the last of the items on the table.

Peridot stared silently at Jaune's solemn expression. She didn't know how to respond to her story. She'd just confided in her what seemed to be an extremely personal thing about her life and family.

Why?

Peridot watched as Jaune's expression gently changed from solemn to grief. She clenched her glass of water, becoming filled with an abrupt feeling of anger.

 _"How **dare** she!_  I don't care how _nice_ or _respectable_ she was, that was a real stupid thing of her to do to you guys! And to _you_ especially!"

Jaune smiled faintly, looking back at Peridot with a much lighter expression. "I'm glad you think so."

Peridot raised an eyebrow, setting her glass back down on the table. "What do you mean?"

Jaune simply shook her head, pulling open the door to the freezer. "Are you still hungry? I have ice cream if you'd like."

Peridot pulled out her cell phone to check the time. 7:43. Jasper would be getting home soon, and she should probably pick up the Chinese before she got there.

Peridot frowned and shook her head, standing up from her seat. "No thanks. Actually, I think I need to head back."

Jaune frowned, pulling out a small tub of ice cream and setting it on the counter. "How come? Do you feel uncomfortable staying in my home?"

Peridot's eyes widened in shock. "No, _no no no_ that's not it! It's just that I . . . it's just . . ." Peridot's speech slowed to a stop as Jaune walked up to her, resting a hand on her shoulder. Peridot tensed before looking up at yellow diamond eyes.

"Peri, there's nothing wrong with spending time with an adult. It's not inappropriate, even if our ages are different." Oh, so that's it. She was going off of what Peridot had said before they left the dorms.

Peridot nodded mindlessly, her breathing swallowed as the concern of Jasper's chinese food slipped her mind. "I . . . I guess you're right." she mumbled.

Jaune smiled, walking over to the cabinet and pulling out two bowls. "Good. Now enjoy your ice cream, _kid."_ Peridot scoffed at the word 'kid', but smiled a bit afterwards. She walked over to the counter with Jaune, grabbing a few spoons out of a drawer when she was asked to. Jaune smiled and took a spoon as Peridot handed it to her, ruffling her hair and thanking her.

Peridot grinned and waited for her to stop, but her fingers remained on Peridot's head. Jaune hummed to herself curiously, gently smoothing her fingers over Peridot's hair.

"Huh, so that's natural. Your hair sticks up like that on it's own?"

Peridot could barely work up the nerve to nod, melting into the Jaune's hand as her nails gently drug against her scalp. Jaune's hand slid down Peridot's neck, gently resting on her shoulder before falling back down to her side. She picked up the ice cream from the counter and handed it to Peridot, smiling at her now calm and bashful expression. "Come on, let's eat our ice cream so I can get you back."

Peridot nodded, smiling as she took her bowl and headed back to the table with her professor.

"Um, Jaune?"

"Hm?"

"Could you uh, could we stop off somewhere before we head back? I need to pick up dinner for my roommate."

Jaune smiled, running a hand over Peridot's hair one last time before sitting down. "Of course, my Peri."


	7. Friends

Peridot woke up to the sound of Jasper digging in the mini fridge, moving around containers and bottles to get the leftover Chinese she wanted. She pulled out a box of noodles and stuck it in the microwave, turning her head once she heard Peridot groan.

"Do you have to be so loud?" she complained, tossing under her covers to a more comfortable position. "What time is it?" she asked groggily.

"It's almost one o'clock, sleeping beauty." Jasper mocked, pushing at the buttons on the microwave. "Hey, did you even eat any of this stuff last night? It looked untouched when I got back."

"No, I ate something else." Peridot stated, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and burying the side of her face deeper into the pillow.

"Why'd you do that? Tuesdays always Chinese. What'd you have instead?" she asked curiously, pulling the hot box out of the microwave, digging a fork into it and taking a bite.

"I went to Jau- I mean, Professor Diamond's house for dinner."

Jasper let out an abrupt cough, almost choking on the noodles before spitting them back out into the garbage can. Peridot winced at the sight and turned away.

"Gross."

 _"Woah woah woah_ , you went over to blondie's house for dinner?" Jasper asked. Peridot just out a frustrated sigh.

 _"Yes,_ I just said that Jasper."

"Dude, that's like, really, really weird."

"Whats so weird about eating with another person?"

"Nothing is. Eating with your professor? Yeah, that's weird." Peridot snorted and got out of bed, attempting to untangle her legs from the mess of bed sheets.

"Especially when you have the hots for her too."

 _"WHAT- !?"_ Peridot started, but abruptly stopped as her face hit the floor, tripping on the comforter as Jasper laughed from the kitchen.

Peridot raised her head off the ground and groaned, rubbing her sore chin as she glared at her roommate. "YOU said it was normal to have a crush on a teacher!!"

Jasper snorted and looked back to her Chinese food. "Well, yeah, but not to actually hook up with- "

"We didn't _'hook up'!!!"_

"Yeah yeah, whatever. All im saying is to take it down a notch. This is a teacher crush, it'll fade. Trust me."

Peridot groaned and let herself drop down into the pile of sheets on the floor, her speech becoming muffled in the fabric of the comforter.

"I hope it does . . . And _fuck you."_ she said, taking the chance to say that while her words were muffled.

She lifted her head up, only to be met with a fork full of noodles being flung in her face.

"I heard that." Jasper grumbled, walking over to the couch and plopping down onto it.

 _"_ ** _HEY!!_** _"_   Peridot yelled, quickly sitting up and pulling the food off her forehead, groaning in annoyance as she took off her glasses, now smeared with soy sauce.

"When you're done cleaning up, let's go hang out with Lapis." Jasper said, sticking another fork full in her mouth as she grinned at Peridot, who was trying to make her way out of the bed sheets without getting soy sauce on them.

"Fine, whatever." Peridot said shortly, trudging over to the bathroom to clean herself up.

 

~ ~ ~

 

"I kind of agree with Jasper on this one." Lapis admitted.

"What!?" Peridot exclaimed, staring at her friend with a look of disbelief.

"It's kind of wrong with be hanging out with a teacher like this."

 _"How!?_ How is it wrong!? All we did was have dinner and drive back to the dorm!" 

"Dude, you could've just called one of us to take you back." Jasper stated.

"I didn't need to call you guys! I could've walked back but she just _offered!"_

Jasper sighed and waved off the comment. "Fine, do whatever you want as long as you're not slapping her ass or anything like that."

 _"WHAT!?!?"_ Peridot yelled, feeling the blood rush up to her face.

Jasper just shrugged. "I'm just saying, don't let it turn into that kind of thing. This is weird enough as it is."

Peridot grumbled to herself, glaring at the ground with a scrunched up face and red cheeks.

"Oh lighten up, Peridot. She's just kidding." Lapis stated, patting Peridot's back and smiling. "We know that nothing like that is going on. We're just lookin' out for you."

Peridot rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I believe you're worried about me, but her?" she said, looking up to Jasper and scoffing "I don't think so."

"Hey! _I'm_ the one giving you the advice here!" Jasper stated defensively.

"Oh, so you do care about me? Didn't seem like it when I got a face full of noodles this morning." Peridot stated.

Lapis raised an eyebrow. "Is that why you smell like soy sauce?" she asked.

 _ **"Idonotsmelllikefuckingsoysauce!!"**_ Peridot hissed through clenched teeth, causing Lapis to laugh and Jasper to grin.

"Whatever you say, you dork." Lapis mumbled with a smirk.

 

~ ~ ~

 

"Look, I'm Jasper!" Peridot mocked in a deep voice, holding up her flexed arms and letting out a grunt as she stepped on an abandon sandcastle, flattening it into the ground.

Jasper rolled her eyes as Lapis laughed, grinning as she picked up two seashells by the water. "Look, I'm Peridot!" Lapis said, grinning ear to ear as she held the shells up to her eyes, mimicking Peridot's glasses.

Jasper covered her mouth as she started to laugh, watching as Peridot scoffed and lowered her arms, crossing them in front of her chest. "Not funny."

Jasper grinned. "You're right, it's not. She's doing it wrong." she stated, sticking a hand in Lapis's hair and spiking it upwards, creating the awkward pointed style of Peridot's hair. _"Ta-da!"_ she said once she was finished, grinning as Lapis chuckled and took out her cell phone, handing it to Jasper with a giddy smile. "You need to take a picture of this." she said, quickly running over to Peridot and wrapping an arm around her shoulder, holding the shells up to her eyes and grinning for the picture.

Peridot huffed as she held up the middle finger and stared in the opposite direction of the camera, waiting until they were finished to look back over to them. Jasper looked down at the picture she took with a smirk, then up at Peridot. "Don't be sour."

"I'm not being sour!" she defended, kicking at a lumpy pile of sand "My sandcastle thing was way funnier." she mumbled, frowning as Lapis tugged her along, the three walking off down the beach and to the small concessions stand.

They sat at a small table on the higher part of the beach, where they were able to see almost the entire stretch of people as they enjoyed the warm day by the water. They ate their ice cream and talked about little things, Peridot and Jasper occasionally jabbed at each other, and were both guilty of flicking ice cream toppings at one another.

They conversation carried on calmly for about a half n' hour until Lapis tipped Jasper's ice cream cone into her face. Her and Peridot laughed as the ice cream dripped down Jasper's nose and chin. In return, Jasper slipped under the table, stole a flip flop from each of them, ran down to the water threw them into the ocean, forcing the two to get waist deep into the water to retrieve them. They called it even at that and headed back to the college campus, which was only about a 15 minute walk for the group.

Lapis walked closely alongside Peridot to keep warm, feeling cold from the icy water and the dwindling heat from the afternoon sun. Jasper walked close to Lapis, and Peridot felt uncomfortable being so close to both of them. She walked a few steps ahead and broke up the human sandwich they had made, shivering a bit a she rubbed the front of her cold thighs with her hands. She briefly thought about how warm Jaune's skin was, and the feeling of her hands when they rested on Peridot's neck. She shivered again, walking home with thoughts of holding the older woman's hand.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this chapter made me insanely hungry for Chinese food and icecream. :) I hope you liked it!


	8. Crush

_"Why doesn't anything at this cruddy school work!?"_ Peridot hissed, repeatedly pushing the button on the water fountain, which was _refusing_ to give her a decent amount of water. The water that it _was_ pumping out was hardly tall enough for her to drink from, and basically just dribbled from the fountain instead of forming a tall stream like it should. Peridot growled in frustration before changing her tactic, pressing down on the button as hard as she could with her thumb, which only gave the stream another millimeter or two of height, which was still undrinkable unless she wanted to put her mouth on the damned thing. She hit the bottom of the machine with her knee, but still couldn't get the stream to go up any higher.

Peridot was pulled away from her efforts with a small, cold tap on her temple. She turned around to be faced with a half empty bottle of water, causing her to furrow her eyebrows in confusion.

"You're going to damage school property at this rate." Jaune stated from behind the bottle, lowering it from Peridot's face so that she could see her. She stared down at her student with her bright yellow eyes and a subtle grin. "You wouldn't want me to write you up, would you?"

Peridot jumped in surprise at the sight of Jaune, falling back and bumping into the water fountain before pushing herself away from it. She stumbled forward, letting out a distressed yelp before falling onto Jaune, her arms wrapped around each of her teacher's curves and her face pressed into the woman's stomach. Peridot's face burned in the cloth, and she could've sworn that the buttons of Jaune's suit could've been replaced with hot coals. Peridot's knees buckled as she tried to force herself off the woman. She found herself holding her body up by supporting herself with Jaune's hips, tilting her head back and staring up at her teacher with an almost desperate expression. Her face felt like it was melting, and she couldn't tell if it was from her nervous sweating or if she was actually crying from the sheer embarrassment.

Surprisingly, Jaune didn't move. She stared down at Peridot throughout the situation with a neutral expression, waiting for to Peridot successfully removed herself, and once she did, she took a few steps back and stood besides the fountain to put some extra distance between them. For a moment, Peridot thought she caught a flash of annoyance on the woman's face. A quick flick of the eyebrow, twitch of the eye, _something_ happened that made Peridot feel even more uncomfortable under the woman's gaze, and Peridot found herself shrinking back against the wall, biting her lip in shame.

Peridot stared up at Jaune with a look of complete and utter regret, letting a squeak escape through her throat in a desperate attempt to apologize. She swallowed thickly and bit her tongue before managing to choke out the words. "I'm . . .  sorry, Jaune. I'm really, really sorry. I didn't mean to-" Jaune cut her off by raising a hand, offering her student a gentle smile. "It's okay, Peridot. I understand. It was an accident. I'm sorry for startling you." she said in a calm, professional voice. 

Jaune walked up to Peridot, taking her clammy hands and placing the water bottle in them, wrapping Peridot's fingers over it with her own. Peridot's heartbeat sped up and thumped wildly inside of her chest. She wanted to hold her teacher's hand so badly just two days ago, when she was cold and tired from a long day at the beach, but now her hands felt uncomfortably sweaty and warm, and Jaune's fingers felt too hot to touch. 

"Sorry it's only half, but you can take the rest of it." Peridot looked down at the bottle, her face growing even hotter once she noticed the lipstick stains underneath the bottle's cap. Peridot's mind flashed back to the car ride, the image of her teacher applying makeup was stuck in her mind now, and she briefly wondered if this was the same shade of lipstick as before.

"T-thank you, ma'am." Peridot mumbled as she stared at the floor, unable to bring herself to look at the woman anymore.

Jaune nodded, patting Peridot's head once before smiling. "I'll see you in class tomorrow." she stated before walking down the hall, leaving Peridot to watch with her heart hammering in her chest and the click of Jaune's shoes ringing in her ears. Peridot looked down at the water in her hands. More than anything, she desperately wanted to drink it to cool herself down after that whole scenario, but the lipstick was making her too nervous to even screw the cap off. She didn't want to touch the lipstick stains, and the thought of putting her lips up against them were making butterflies well up in the pit of her stomach.

It took her about 2 minutes to finally come to the conclusion that she just couldn't drink it. Peridot attempted to let out a frustrated groan, managing a short, weak whine before shoving the bottle into her backpack, walking down the hallway to her next class, her head lowered in embarrassment and her eyes glued to her feet.

She would find a different water fountain to use instead. 

 

~ ~ ~

 

"So, what'da think's going on between Peridork and her teacher?" Jasper asked, grabbing her recently washed clothes from the laundry basket and tossing them certain places in the closet. The basket gave off the scent of fresh laundry detergent and warm towels, and Lapis inhaled the scent gratefully. 

"Maybe she's just being friendly." she suggested, resting on Jasper's bed and laying on her back, her head hanging off the end as she clicked through the tv channels.

"Hey, I thought you said you were on my side on this." Jasper stated, disappointment heavy in her tone.

Lapis shrugged. "Now I'm on Peridot's I guess."

Jasper let out a huff as she folded up a pair of jeans, tossing them on top of the others. "When are you gonna get over your stupid little crush on her?"

"That depends, when are you gonna get over your stupid little crush on me?" Lapis bit back, glancing at Jasper from her upside-down position.

Jasper rolled her eyes and pushed the empty basket to the back of her closet, closing the doors before walking over to her bed, staring down at Lapis with her arms crossed.

"Are you gonna move so I can sit on my bed?" She asked gruffly.

"Nope." Lapis stated. Jasper scoffed before walking over to Peridot's bed, plopping down on it with a grunt and staring up at the tv. Jasper momentarily regretted not just sitting on her bed with Lapis, and she mentally beat herself up for that before forcing herself to forget the missed opportunity.

"So, you really think she's just being friendly?" she asked.

"I dunno. Maybe."

"Well, I think it's a little _too_ friendly to be asking one of your students out to dinner."

Lapis clicked down the volume and sat up on the bed, wincing a bit once she realized the blood had gone to her head. "Yeah, but it's not like she's doing anything bad."

"But what if she does?" Jasper asked. Lapis thought for a moment before grinning a bit, leaning over the space between the beds to punch Jasper's arm.

"Then knock her dead!" She suggested, chuckling a bit to herself.

Jasper smiled and laughed a little as well, rubbing her arm in fake pain. "Jeez, calm down there Incredible Hulk, you're gonna do some serious damage to me at this rate." She teased. Lapis laughed and Jasper's face grew to a faint red tint. She loved it when Lapis laughed. She looked nice like that.

Lapis smiled and layed down on Jasper's pillows. "Well, until she actually does something suspicious, I say we just keep an eye on her."

Jasper nodded, looking back at the tv and sighing. "I just don't want her to get hurt or anything like that." she murmured, almost quietly enough that Lapis couldn't hear it. _Almost._

"Neither do I, but it's not like Peridot's gonna start dating a teacher or anything like that." Lapis stated "She just wants a little bit of attention. She looks up to her and wants to see her a little more. She's going to be alright." Lapis said before sighing, running a hand through her dark hair. "Besides, it's not like you get to _choose_ who you get a crush on. You can't just . . . get rid of something like that." she mumbled.

Jasper nodded in agreement, laying her head back on the pillows and staring up at the ceiling. "You got that right." she frowned, resting in that position for a moment before lifting her head back up to the tv.

"So, what else is on?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter doesn't have a lot going on, it's three in the morning right now and trying to write this the best I can. X)
> 
> After this chapter, things are going to start getting good. I've finally got the rest of the story planned out and i'm excited to write it all out. Hopefully I can do that alright!
> 
> Thank you for reading!. :)


	9. Arguments

 Peridot walked down the hallways, her laptop case hanging from her shoulder and her phone held in her hand. Her thumb gently swept over the screen and occasionally tapped on an app or song that she wanted. She hummed a little tune from the song playing through her earbuds, eventually opening her mouth to let a little mumbled singing escape.

 

_♪ Keep my stance wide. Keep my body lowered. As I'm moving forward balance is the key~ ♪_

 

Peridot glanced up from her tecnology once a glimpse of blue caught her eye. Lapis was standing a little bit down the hall outside of her dorm room. She wore a black short sleeve shirt and an ankle long blue skirt, which was probably what caught Peridot's attention. Lapis stood watching Peridot, smiling at her as she progressed down the hallway.

"I thought you didn't sing." Lapis said once Peridot was close enough. The blonde stopped next to her friend and clicked her music app off, pulling out her earbuds and sticking them in the front pouch of her computer case. "I don't." Peridot stated, despite the fact that she had been caught singing just a few moments ago. Peridot raised an eyebrow at Lapis. "What are you doing out here? You get locked out of your room?" Lapis shook her head. "I've been waiting for you to get back, actually."

"Alright, that's creepy." Peridot stated, earning herself an elbow to her arm.

"Ow! I was just kidding!" she defended, rubbing her arm as Lapis rolled her eyes.

"I wanna talk to you."

Peridot shot Lapis a confused expression. "Why? Is this about you being drunk a few nights ago? If it is, I really don't care. You were drunk and-" Lapis cut her off.

"It's not about that." she said, shooting Peridot a confused look of her own. "Wait, what happened a few nights ago?"

Peridot shook her head. "Nothing. So what do you wanna talk about?" she asked.

Lapis stared at her friend for another moment before turning around, opening the door to her dorm and walking inside, standing in front of the door and motioning for Peridot to come in. Peridot huffed and sauntered into the room, glancing around as Lapis shut the door behind her.

Lapis's dorm was much, much cleaner than hers and Jasper's was. Granted, it wasn't perfect, but it was still more well kept than Peridot's room was.

Lapis's roommate, Garnet, kept her side of the room rather plain compared to Lapis.

On Lapis's side of the room, her bed was covered in a multitude of blue pillows. Her comforter was large and dark blue with little colorful fish patterns on it. The sheet that sat underneath it was a light teal color, and a white, fuzzy blanket sat folded on the end of her bed. Her nightstand had a simple, sand colored lamp set on top of it, a cellphone, and a few scattered writing utensils. A string of white Christmas lights was strung up near the ceiling, running across the walls until it stopped at the closet door, where it fell to the floor and plugged into the wall. A few posters hung up on Lapis's walls, most of them with soothing and calming messages written on them. A small plant sat in a pot on top of a table with a computer, and besides that, the rest of their room seemed to be ordinary, taken up mostly by the necessities. 

Peridot cocked an eyebrow at the decor. "Did you get all your decoration advice off tumblr or something?" she asked.

Lapis rolled her eyes as she walked over to take a seat on her bed. "No, I just try to make my space as comfortable and calm as I can. It helps me relax when i'm anxious or . . . anything like that." she stated gently. Peridot frowned a bit at the explanation she gave.

Her friend had gone through some pretty bad experiences before they both met each other in high school. Lapis's mom was emotionally abusive towards her growing up, and Lapis had to deal with a pretty rough amount of bullying whenever she went to school. Up until freshman year, she had to deal with the constant abuse both inside and outside of her home. As Lapis put it, _she felt completely and utterly trapped._ During the time she spent in her mother's house and in grade school, she developed self esteem and trust issues.

Once Lapis got into high school, her bullying became less and less frequent, and she eventually met a guy who helped her through some of her trust problems. She started a relationship with him, and eventually, their relationship became an abusive one. The person she was with became toxic and controlling, forcing her to stay in the relationship by puppeting her emotions.

_'What's gonna happen once we break up, huh? It's not like anyone else cares about you. **I** care about you, though. Stay with me.'  _

_'Do you really want to go home to your asshole of a mom again? Why not stay the night with me?'_

_'No, we're **not** breaking up. YOU don't get to choose if we break up or not. That's not your choice to make.'_

Needless to say, whatever progress Lapis had with her trust crippled. She became even more withdrawn and depressed than before, and almost refused to openly talk to anyone else besides her boyfriend and mother.

Eventually, one of her boyfriend's friends stepped in, stood up for Lapis, got her boyfriend to back off a little and to give Lapis some space. Lapis never really knew what went on between them, she didn't know if he blackmailed her boyfriend or something like that, but whatever he did, it _worked._ Her boyfriend backed off, much to his disliking. He occasionally tried to talk to Lapis, or to get her to go to his place after school, but his friend, well, _ex_ friend wouldn't allow it.

Lapis placed whatever trust she had left in this new person, who helped her and saved her from the toxic relationship she was being kept in. 

And that was when she met Peridot. 

Senior year of highschool, the two of them were in the same P.E. class. Long story short, Peridot was an absolutely horrible swimmer, and Lapis found swimming to be her escape. Eventually, their teacher asked Lapis if she could help Peridot in the free time that the class had. Lapis agreed, and within the two week long swimming unit, the two became friends.

Peridot was a lung full of fresh air for Lapis. After so long of a life with such serious problems and serious people, Peridot came along and made her laugh, and made things feel lighter. She was the first person Lapis knew who could be so goofy and weird and passionate. She complained and ranted and whined all the time, and even as Lapis tried to put up with it all, she found herself loving every minute of it. 

Lapis saw Peridot as a friend, but not as someone who she could trust yet. She hardly saw anyone as trustworthy anymore. 

Eventually, Lapis and the one person she _did_ trust in got into a fight. The fight was about Lapis's ex. Apparently she said something about him that he didn't like, and even though they weren't friends anymore, he still had a heart for him, and felt the need to defend him in this situation. There was a lot of yelling, accusing and defending involved, and eventually a hand was raised, and Peridot watched as Lapis was hit across the face. 

The argument was during lunch, and Peridot overheard the quarrel from her lunch table with Jasper. The second Peridot heard the _smack_ , she was out of her seat, at Lapis's table and telling off the guy who touched her friend. She pushed him out of his seat, and he pushed her down in return. Once Peridot was on the ground, Jasper butted in. After a single look up and down Jasper's body, the guy was out of the lunch room, and the three girls were all sent to the Student Affairs office.

Lapis was sent home for the day, Peridot was suspended for starting a fight, and Jasper was sent off back to class. They didn't know what happened to Lapis's friend after that, and they chose to avoid him whenever he happened to pass by. Luckily, he didn't make an effort to come by and talk, let alone apologize.

After that, all three of their friendships took off. They ended up at same college, and Lapis was finally free from her mother's home.

However, the experiences she had left her with a handful of issues that she had to work through, and the reason for her room being so calm had just gone to remind Peridot of all that.

Peridot shook her head, making her way into the kitchen. "Mind if I grab some water?"

"Sure, go ahead." Lapis responded, waiting for Peridot to come back before she spoke up again. 

"Can we talk about your professor?" she asked after Peridot took a seat on Garnet's bed. Peridot nearly choked on her water at that, quickly wiping off the water that was now dribbling down her chin. "What? Why? I told you there's nothing weird about it!"

Lapis couldn't help but grin a little, waiting for Peridot to clean herself up before continuing. "I just want to know what's going on with you two."

Peridot scoffed, avoiding eye contact with Lapis as she traced a finger along the rip of the glass, heat rising to her face at some sort of thought she brought up in her head. "Nothing's _'going on'_ with us. She gave me a ride home and let me come over because her dinner guest cancelled on her. That's it. End of story. Can I go now?" she asked, a hint of desperation in her voice.

Lapis raised an eyebrow. ". . .Then why are you blushing?"

Peridot's face blew up in a dark red, and she frantically took a deep swig of her water to cool herself down, swallowing wrong and starting to cough. "I'm not - _cough-_  blushing!!! _-cough cough-"_

Lapis rested her head on her palm, giving Peridot an unamused expression. "Really?"

Peridot let out another cough or two before nodding. _"Really."_ she insisted.

Lapis frowned, pulling her feet onto the bed, wrapping her arms together and resting them on top of her knees. ". . . And you'd tell me the truth, right?"

Peridot froze, guilt lacing her expression as she looked at her friend, whose eyes seemed to look a little sadder than usual. "O-of course! I always do, you know that!"

Lapis nodded, resting her chin on her arms. "Then how come you're blushing?"

Peridot remained silent, biting her lip as the thought of Jaune touching her neck popped into her mind, cupping her cheek, brushing her hair, whispering her nickname.

_'Of course, my peri . . . '_

Peridot shivered, looking back at Lapis, who seemed to be a bit more curious now.

Peridot frowned with a nervous expression. "I like her, I have a crush on her, I just . . . want to be near her. I guess . . . _that's_ why i'm blushing?" she asked, rather than answered.

Lapis nodded, a little bit of something in her eyes. Peridot couldn't tell exactly what it was. Sadness, empathy, something . . . ?

"What were you thinking about?" she asked.

"What?" Peridot said.

"What were you thinking about?" Lapis repeated.

Peridot remained silent for a few moments, opening her mouth to let out a little mumbled word. 

_"Peri . . . "_

Lapis raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Peridot furrowed her eyebrows, biting her tongue and mumbling the nickname a little louder.

 _"Peri._ She calls me Peri." she said.

Lapis's eyes widened a little at this. "She has a nickname for you?"

Peridot nodded, eyes glued to her glass in embarrassment.

Lapis bit the inside of her cheek. "This doesn't seem right."

Peridot glanced up to Lapis in confusion. "What do you mean? It's just a nickname."

Lapis frowned at her friend, a little bit of worry crossing over her face. "This isn't right. A teacher doesn't just invite a random student over to her house like that, Peridot. You don't even know her! She doesn't even know _you!_ It's crossing the line to give you some sort of cutesy nickname." she spat, a little bit of envy mixed in with the protectiveness of her tone. "It seems fake."

Peridot looked at Lapis with an angry expression, placing the glass onto the floor. "It's not fake! She likes me as a person and wants to hang out with me! Why is that so bad? I like her and i'm old enough to do what I want to!" she defended, standing up from the bed.

Lapis got to her feet. "Peridot, a teacher who's never taken an interest in you before just _suddenly_ gives you a nickname and acts like she likes you, don't you think-"

 _"She's not acting!!"_ Peridot yelled, scrunching her nose in anger and stomping off to the door, Lapis trailing behind her.

 _"Peridot please!_ I'm just worried about you! I've been treated like an object before and I don't want the same thing to happen to you." she pleaded. Peridot ignored her and shut the door behind her, fuming as she made her way down the halls.

 _Jaune wasn't treating her like an object!_ Jaune never did anything bad to her, and she never did anything wrong! Her friends just immediately _assumed_ that something bad was going on, or that they were doing something inappropriate. _**Why** couldn't Peridot just be with her!?_

Jaune was everything Peridot ever wanted to be. She admired her, she wanted to be with her, she looked up to her, and _now_ she was looking back at her. She was treating her like something and Peridot couldn't even describe the feeling it gave her to be recognized by someone who she felt was so . . . perfect.

 _'Well screw them!_ She didn't do anything! And I could do whatever I want!' Peridot thought, making her way out into the parking lot, pulling the keys out of her pocket and shoving them into the car door, getting inside and throwing her computer into the backseat.

She could do what she wanted. And right now, she wanted to see Jaune.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much reading my story this far! I almost have 100 kudos and I'm absolutely ecstatic about that! I really, really appreciate all the comments i've been getting, so thank you so much for talking to me with them. I'm glad you like the story so far! Thank you for reading! :)


	10. Just Relax

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M NOT DEAD I PROMISE
> 
> I'm so, so sorry that I haven't updated in a while. School started up again for me a few weeks ago, so it's been hard to get some time and motivation to actually write. Unfortunately, this means that there will continue to be some long pauses between updates, but don't worry! I have every intention in the world on finishing this story, no matter how long it takes. 
> 
> Unfortunately, this chapter is a little fluffy and uneventful, but it's YellowDot. :)  
> Sorry for this. I was really hoping that I could upload another chapter with this one to make it a bit more interesting (since the next chapter is going to focus on Jasper), but I didn't want to wait another week to finally get something posted again, and I really wanted to make sure no one thought I was dead on this fanfic. 
> 
> So, I hope you like it! :)

Peridot hadn't exactly thought of a reason for _why_ she wanted to go see Jaune, and she hadn't necessarily thought out an excuse for her arrival either, being too caught up in her angry thoughts and mumbled cursing. Therefore, when she found herself standing on Jaune's doorstep, staring up at confused yellow eyes, she ended up stumped, speechless and without an explanation for the older woman.

"Yes, Peridot?" Jaune asked hesitantly, still seeming to be a little thrown off at her student's unexpected arrival.

Peridot looked up at Jaune nervously, wringing her hands together in some sort of desperate attempt at a creating a distraction for her panicking mind. ". . . Could . . . Could I come in?" Peridot managed to ask, and after another moment of silence, asides the noisy crickets chirping in the yard behind them, Jaune nodded, moving out of the way for Peridot to come inside.

Jaune shut the front door behind them, and before she could even open her mouth to ask, Peridot broke off into a rant.

"Look, i'm sorry i'm here and i'm sorry it's kinda late, but I just got into a fight with a friend and I _do not_ want to go back to the dorms right now. My roommate's probably gonna chew my ear off if I do because she thinks the exact same thing my friend does and I just don't wanna hear about it right now! I'm sorry I came over but the fight was _kind of_ about you. They think that I can't hang out around you and that you're just being nice and don't actually like me! They think you're manipulating me or something and I don't want to hear it anymore! They don't know anything! We have a good relationship and I mean, yeah we've only really talked a few times, but I know about your past with your sister and you know a little bit about me! We're fine and everything's fine but they don't think it is _aND SH **IT-** " _

Peridot yelled, tripping over the living room's coffee table mid rant, having been too focused on what she was saying to realize where she was going.

Jaune stared at Peridot with a dumbfounded expression, unsure of how to handle the scenario. Her student had shown up on her doorstep at almost 8 o'clock at night _just_ to apologize for even being there in the first place, yell, wander around her house, and fall over her coffee table.

Jaune's eyebrows furrowed as she took in the situation, letting out a quiet sigh as she watched Peridot awkwardly fumble her legs out from under the table. _What in the hell had she gotten herself into with this student?_

Nevertheless, Jaune wiped the annoyed look off her face, made her way over to Peridot, and extended a hand to help her up with. Peridot let a blush sweep over her face as she stared at the hand, gingerly taking it in her own before she was pulled up to her feet, staring at Jaune with a look of embarrassment.

"Um, thanks . . . Sorry." Peridot mumbled.

Jaune simply nodded and flicked her eyes up and down the girl's body. "You're not hurt, are you?"

Peridot shook her head.

"Good."

The two stood there for a moment before Peridot awkwardly gripped her arm, rubbing it a little with her thumb as she focused her eyes at the ground. "I should . . . probably go then?" she asked in a defeated manner, unsure of how to take the conversation from there.

Jaune put on a frown. "You don't have to leave so soon, Peri. Why don't you sit down, I'll get you something to drink and you can talk to me more about this little situation you're in." Peridot couldn't help but let a little grin form on her face. She accepted Jaune's offer and took a seat on her couch, waiting as Jaune went into the kitchen.

Peridot tapped her fingers mindlessly against her knee as she waited. It was a dumb and pointless observation, but this was the second time that Peridot waited in Jaune's living room while she was in the kitchen. The thought sparked something in Peridot's mind, and beckoned her to glance over at the end table with the picture frame on it.

It was propped up on it's stand again, facing out towards the living room with the two bright smiles in it. Peridot squinted her eyes and leaned a little closer to examine it. A small, faint crack in the corner of the glass caught her eye, and made her wonder if Jaune set the frame down too roughly last time she was here. No, probably not. She put that frame down pretty carefully from what she remembered.

"Still curious about her?" Jaune asked, causing Peridot to nearly jump out of her seat, yelping in surprise. Jaune let an amused smile grow on her face as she watched Peridot stare at her, hunched over and genuinely startled from the comment.

"You're a fairly easy person to scare. Your roommate must like to toy with you a lot." Jaune teased. Peridot sighed and rested her arms on her legs, hunched over and glaring at the carpet with frustrated expression.

 _"Tell me about it."_ Peridot huffed.

Jaune took a seat next to her and placed a small tea cup on the table in front of her. Peridot looked at it in a bit of surprise, straightening her back up a little more. "Tea?" she asked skeptically, having expected something simpler, like a glass of water.

"I was going to get you a water, but I was in the middle of making some for myself and thought it might help you to calm down." Jaune explained.

Peridot's face reddened in embarrassment at realizing Jaune was referring to her outburst. She hesitantly picked up the tea cup and let the scent reach her nose. It was strong, and Peridot almost found herself setting the cup back down before she even bothered to take a sip, but she stopped herself. Jaune make this for her, and she was going to drink it.

It wasn't as if she'd never had tea before anyways. She could recall her dad making it for her once or twice when she was little and got sick, but that had been years ago, and Peridot had basically lived off coffee and soda ever since starting college.

Peridot looked down at the cup. The scent alone made Peridot reconsider if she ever even liked the drink her dad made to begin with.

"You don't have to drink it if you don't like it." Jaune stated. Peridot flinched a bit at this, realizing she must've been staring at the drink for a bit longer than she was comfortable with.

"No, no! I'll drink it. I just . . . haven't had tea in a while." she admitted dumbly, earning herself another small smile from Jaune.

"I like it to drink it most afternoons. It helps me relax and enjoy the evening before I go to bed." Peridot nodded, taking a small sip and wincing as it stung her tongue. It was hot. Really hot. Peridot couldn't exactly describe the taste, but the closest thing she could compare it to was a flower. It tasted like a cup full of hot, bitter flower water, with just a touch of sweetness that hit her tongue a moment after the shock from the heat. Peridot shivered at the sudden warmth that spread over her body.

"I didn't know if you liked it sweet or not, so I decided to add a little honey to it for you." Jaune explained.

Peridot stared at the cup for a moment in surprise, eventually feeling a warm smile growing on her face. Somehow, that touch of sweetness Jaune added to the cup became the most comforting thing she'd felt in a while. She added it in for her. _Just for her._ She made this tea for _her._

Peridot relaxed a little into the couch and took another sip, welcoming the warmth to spread over her again.

"It's really good." she stated softly and simply. It wasn't so much the taste that was good, but the feeling it gave her was amazing. She could bare through the bitter-sweet plant taste for it. For Jaune. Because Jaune made it for her, and Peridot couldn't get over that.

Jaune smiled as she watched Peridot slowly relaxing, taking another sip from the small cup. "I'm glad you like it." she said, taking a sip from her own before placing it on the coffee table, leaning back against the couch and looking over at her student. "So, what's your situation exactly? Your friends aren't too fond of us spending time together?" she asked. Peridot frowned and nodded, her arms snuggled up to her sides and her cup resting against her stomach, the heat absorbing into her hoodie and warming her skin underneath it's material.

"Yeah, they think it's bad that we ate dinner together and that you made a nickname for me. They're just being stupid and overreacting." Peridot explained again, this time in a much more slow, calming tone. Jaune nodded with an understanding expression on her face. "I see. Well, they have every right to be concerned about you, Peri."

"Doesn't mean they should." Peridot mumbled bitterly. "They're _overdoing_ it."

Jaune frowned. "Would you like me to talk with them?"

Peridot shook her head. "Nah. They'll get over it eventually. They just need to see that we're good and that we- . . ." Peridot stalled for a moment, a wandering thought invading her mind, causing her to furrow her eyebrows and frown down at her cup.

". . . _Are_ we good?" Peridot asked, suddenly sounding a little unsure of herself.

Jaune placed her hand onto Peridot's shoulder. "Of course we are, Peri. I enjoy spending time with you. That's all that matters, isn't it?" she asked.

Peridot relaxed at her touch, nodding and letting a smile slowly slip onto her face again, and the intruding thought slip from her mind. Peridot looked up from her drink to meet eyes with Jaune. _"Right._ They'll figure it out eventually. They'll just . . . realize that we're friends and quit with all the _'i'm worried about you'_ drama." Peridot concluded.

Jaune nodded, removing her hand from Peridot's shoulder to pick her cup up again. "Exactly." she agreed.

Jaune picked up the television remote from the table, gently clicking it on with a glossy, painted fingernail. "Would you like to watch a movie?" she asked, looking over at her student.

Half of Peridot's mind jumped at the thought, ecstatic that she would be able to spend more time with Jaune. Another part of her mind was hesitant, a little worried that Jasper or Lapis might chew her out if she didn't come back at a reasonable time. The first half of her brain ruled out the other, and Peridot figured that she would just have to sneak back into the dorm later tonight. She'd deal with the two of them in the morning. For now, she was going to enjoy herself with Jaune.

"Sure!" she agreed, a little bit too eager for her liking. She was glad that she felt mellowed out enough from the tea to avoid sounding even more enthusiastic.

Jaune nodded and clicked through the channels on the screen, eventually getting herself to the movies section on the menu. She asked about which type of movies Peridot liked, and the two made a bit of small talk as Peridot and her figured out the one they wanted to watch together.

The next two hours were spent in the dark of Jaune's living room, finishing off their drinks and watching one of those cheesy sci-fi cliches about artificial intelligence. Peridot heard the movie mentioned somewhere online before, and explained to Jaune that there was supposed to be some sort of _'amazing plot twist'_ that made it stand out from the other movies similar to it.

Around mid-movie, Peridot found herself chuckling at the television as the movie's situation took a comedic turn. She felt her face grow hot as she listened to Jaune's laughter beside her. Her laugh was deep, controlled and fairly quiet, and Peridot found it to be absolutely mesmerizing. She sucked in a small breath and let out a shaky exhale, trying to calm down the butterflies welling up in her stomach.

A few more moments passed by before Peridot couldn't help herself, glancing away from the movie to see how far away her hand was from Jaune's. The professor's hand was sitting gently on the cushion and resting besides her hip, and Peridot bit her lip at the thought of holding it. It had been on her mind ever since her walk on the beach with Jasper and Lapis, and now, this was her opportunity to do just that. Peridot's eyes flicked up to Jaune's illuminated face, confirming that she was still minding the movie. Peridot looked back down at her hand and tensed, running the thought through her head again and slowly building confidence.

Her fingers barely had the chance to lift off the cushions before an explosion filled her ears. The sound of cars screeching and metal scraping jolted her out of her thoughts, causing her to look back at the T.V., where a scene of a broken apart city engulfed in chaos was shown. Peridot stared at the screen, finding herself transfixed, and even a little paralyzed from the sudden shock. A few different thoughts filled her up mind. Angry, sad, frustrated, but overall, defeated. The interruption had managed to knock out whatever confidence she had managed to build up, pulling her from her daydream back into reality. She sighed, ultimately deciding to just give up on the idea. She went to pull her hand back onto her lap, but stopped abruptly as she felt pressure on top of it, gently pinning it down onto the cushion.

Peridot's breath hitched in her throat as she looked up at Jaune, who stared back at her with curiosity in her expression.

"Did that startle you?" She asked. Peridot stared, mouth slightly agape and blank space filling up her mind. She couldn't find the words to respond with. She couldn't remember what words were. She could only register one thing.

Jaune was holding her hand.

Peridot blinked, mindlessly shaking her head at the question that she couldn't even remember.

_Jaune was holding her hand._

Jaune smiled, nodding and giving Peridot's hand a small, reassuring squeeze before releasing it, turning her head back in the direction of the television.

"Let me know if it gets too scary for you." Jaune joked, flashing Peridot a playful smile before turning her eyes back to the screen as well.

Peridot watched as Jaune turned her attention back to the movie. She stared for at her for a little while before looking down at her hand, still unable to process what she should be doing with herself at the moment, because  _Jaune just held her hand._

With a little bit of hesitation, Peridot let her fingers spread out, moving freely for a moment to reassure her that the event had just happened. Peridot brought her hand back up to her lap, setting it on her legs and simply staring down at it for a while, quickly covering her mouth with her other hand once she realised just how big of a smile she had on her face. She grinned under her fingers, gently balling her hand up into a fist and slipping it in her hoodie pocket, as if to preserve the feeling left on it from Jaune's touch.

Peridot didn't pay much attention to the rest of the movie, even though she had tried to make an effort to do so. Her head flooded with little thoughts and fantasies and small things about the woman sitting next to her. Her wayward thoughts pulling her from reality, and leading her eyes to grow heavier. Peridot soon found herself struggling to stay awake.

It would be fine if she fell asleep here, right? She thought, as she slowly drifted into unconsciousness. The last thing Peridot remembered seeing was the T.V. The scene where the big plot twist was going to be revealed. The big plot twist that Peridot wouldn't remember when she woke up. The big plot twist that Peridot didn't care about, because Peridot had Jaune, and that was all that she wanted right now.

Around twenty minutes later, and the credits rolled slowly up the screen. Jaune lazily let her eyes wander over to the back door, staring out the glass at the inky black sky outside. A few tiny stars had popped up, aiding the moon in providing a little bit of gentle light in the backyard.

Jaune looked back at Peridot, beginning to ask her if she had enjoyed the movie, but stopping herself once she realized the girl wasn't awake.

Peridot laid against the arm rest, her head resting on her shoulder and one of her arms dangling off the edge, while the other was still shoved inside of her hoodie's pouch. Her tea cup sat on her stomach, empty, tipped over and set in place by the wrinkles in her hoodie. She snored lightly with her mouth open, her glasses crooked on her face and resting on the tip on her nose.

Jaune stared at her for a moment before exhaling, making a decision between her options before she took off Peridot's glasses, closing them and gently placing them down on the table. She picked up both their cups and took them back to the kitchen, returning a few moments later with a blanket from a hallway closet. She spread the blanket out over Peridot and clicked off the television, allowing the light from outside to provide her guidance back to her own room. 

Peridot could spend the night here, she decided, clicking on a few lights upstairs as she walked. She let out a bit of a sigh as she entered her room, sleepily making her way into her bathroom to get ready for bed.

It would all be worth it. And besides, spending time with the student hadn't proven to be _too_ bad so far.

 

~ ~ ~ 

 

The computer case in the back of Peridot's car gently vibrated. A soft, blue-white light emitted from it's front pouch. 

 

_2 missed calls from Lapis_

_6 missed calls from Jasper_


	11. Work It Out

Peridot pushed the door shut with a click, throwing a quick glance in each corner of the room to affirm she was by herself.

_All clear._

Peridot let out a breath of relief, dropping her computer case into the desk chair and pulling her phone out from it's pouch. The bright little screen read _'10:34 a.m.'._ Peridot had just gotten back from her overnight stay at Jaune's house.

She hadn't intended on spending the night, infact, she nearly had a heart attack once she woke up and realized that she was still on the couch. She would've ran out the door to get back then and there if it wasn't for Jaune, who woke up before her and made them both some breakfast. It was too nice, and Peridot had to stay to spend the morning with her. Afterwards, Peridot was out the door fast, hoping to get home before Jasper did from her usual weekend workouts.

Peridot bit her lip as she tugged off her shoes, throwing them somewhere near the side of her bed. She was still nervous about having to face her friends once they got back. She had no idea what she would end up saying to them. 

_'Hey, sorry about that little fight last night! Didn't mean to slam the door in your face! By the way, I slept at my professor's house last night! Oh, the phone calls? Left my phone in my car, but decided not to call on my way home. Got a case of the nerves, sorry!'_

Peridot groaned and rubbed her eyes with her palms. Lapis had filled Jasper in on the situation last night, there was no doubt about that in Peridot's head. The only doubt she was having at the moment was whether or not she would get out of this without a bruise. The day Jasper found out that Lapis liked Peridot over her was the day that Peridot got her first bloody nose.

Jasper was a loaded gun, and Peridot had no desire to stand in front of her.

Peridot ran a hand through her hair as she sat up, heading towards the bathroom with the intent of taking a shower. She desperately needed it after everything that happened. Plus, she really, really needed something to help her calm down about everything. Yelling at Lapis, holding Jaune's hand, etc.

Peridot opened the door to the bathroom, only getting about a step and a half inside before she was met with a face-full of white, moppy hair. Peridot let out a startled gasp, immediately backing out of the bathroom as Jasper turned around, her eyes filling with a bit of surprised before they slowly began brimming with anger.

"Jasper!" Peridot yelled, taking another step backwards. "I-I thought you went to the gym!" Jasper followed her, her legs taking longer strides until she was taking two steps forward for every step Peridot took back. _"I was just leaving."_ she answered gruffly. Peridot's back eventually pressed into the wall, and Jasper placed both her hands on the wall, locking her in. Peridot grimaced under her glare.

"The hell were you last night?" she asked "You scared Lapis half to death!"

"I know I know, I-"

"She fell asleep here waiting for you to get back!"

" _I'm sorry_ alright? But she-"

"She started crying, Peridot!"

" _I get it!_ But I-"

"You were what, Peridot? Hanging out with your girlfriend!? You asshole!"

" _Me!? I'M_ the asshole!? You two are the ones who have been over-reacting, unsupportive jerks to me! You guys-"

"YOU'VE been the only jerk out of all of us, Peridot! You walked out on Lapis last night when all she was trying to do was help you! You didn't have to slam the door on her!"

 _"I DIDN'T NEED HER HELP!"_ Peridot screamed, red-faced as she let loose shaky breath, glaring up at Jasper with a look of distress. ". . . I don't _need_ any help, Jasper."

"Yes you do."

"Just leave me alone!"

Jasper stood there a moment, taking a minute just to stare down her roommate's expression. She eventually let out a huff, dropping her arms and walking over to her bed, grabbing her workout bag and slinging it over her shoulder. She walked past Peridot, who was making an effort just to avoid eye-contact with her was she went by.

"Fine. I'll leave you be." Jasper stated, opening up the door and pausing in the doorway. ". . . Were you with her last night?"

Peridot remained silent, biting her lip with a guilty expression on her face, and still keeping her eyes fixated on the floor.

 _". . . Figures."_ Jasper grumbled, shutting the door behind her and walking down the hallways.

 

_~ ~ ~_

 

The gym was busy as usual for a Saturday morning, with everyone trying to kickstart their weekend and get their exercise out of the way in order to enjoy the rest of it. Unfortunately, a crowded gym meant that most of the good machines were taken up.

Jasper usually planned ahead for this, getting to the gym at an earlier time, but Peridot had messed that up for her today. Jasper waited all morning for Peridot to finally show up back at the dorms. She waited past the time she usually left for the gym, and eventually, after losing her patience, decided to just give up and get ready to go, which was when Peridot finally showed up, waltzing into the bathroom as Jasper was sticking her hair up into a ponytail.

Jasper's eyes scanned around the room, taking into notice that all the weight-lifts, ellipticals, and bikes were taken up, and the majority of the Jasper's favorites were in use as well. She narrowed down her options, figuring that the only other things she could do at the moment were running on the treadmills or going up to join the yoga class.

Treadmills it was.

Jasper huffed as she set her bag down next to the machine, stepping onto it and choosing her settings. If she wanted to get a damn workout by running, she could've just opted to leave her car back on campus. She thought that it was just dumb for her to use a 'walking' machine when she could walk anytime that she wanted. But since she was already here. . .

Jasper grumbled to herself as her feet picked up with machine, slowly coming into rhythm with the speed of the belt under her feet.

"Not too fond of the treadmills?" came a smooth, deep voice from besides her. Jasper turned her head to face Lapis's roommate, Garnet, standing on one of the ellipticals besides her.

Jasper rolled her eyes. "I can walk anytime I want. This machine is a waste of my time." she stated, clicking one of the buttons to increase the speed another notch. "Good thing I've got some time to waste." she mumbled.

"Should've got here faster." was Garnet's simple reply.

" _Tsck._ I usually do, smarty. I had to yell at my roomate first."

"Rough night?"

"Tell me about it."

"Lapis didn't seem too good this morning."

"I would know. She spent the night in my dorm."

"Something wrong?"

"Yup."

"Would you like to talk about it?"

". . . Sure, why not. It's not like i'm caught up in _the thrill_ of exercise right now." Jasper mocked, knocking her machine's speed down a couple levels so that she could focus on the conversation.

"In a nutshell, Peridot's got a thing for her professor. She ate dinner at her house, just the two of them. The woman's got some sort of cutesy pet name for her, and i'm pretty damn sure she slept over at her house last night. It's all weird and gross and Peridot just needs to cut it the hell out. The woman's like, twice her age or something and Peridot's barely even 21. She yelled at Lapis last night and stormed off, so Lapis was pretty upset about the whole thing. Peridot wouldn't pick up her phone, and Lapis ended up passing out on her bed waiting for her to get back. Showed up early this morning after Lapis left. We got into a fight and I came here. That's about it." Jasper explained, letting out a huff of air after her mouthful of an explanation.

"Yikes." Garnet said, dragging the back of her hand over her forehead to wipe off a few beads of sweat. "Doesn't sound too good."

"Yeah, it's not." Jasper replied bitterly. She turned off her machine and bent down to reach into her bag, pulling out a hand towel and handing it over to Garnet, who took it with a bit of a smile. "Thanks." Jasper nodded, stepping back onto her machine as Garnet wiped off her face and arms.

"So, you got any input on this, or am I telling you it all for nothing?" Jasper asked. Garnet laid the towel over the machine's screen.

"Tell me more about Peridot."

"What?"

"You heard me." Garnet replied cooly. "Tell me more about her."

Jasper stared at her for a moment before sighing, giving into the off-topic conversation. "Well, she's a _nerd_. She's a dork. Likes video games. Wastes her time on the computer. Uh. . ." Jasper scoured through her thoughts to try and think up more facts about her roommate, eventually drawing to a blank after only listing a few. ". . . She likes the color green? She's built a few cool things before. Good with hacking things. Uh. . ."

"And. . . ?" Garnet prodded.

Jasper tried to think up anything else about her friend, pushing her thoughts back to some earlier memories of her.

Peridot and Jasper met in second grade, when both of them were around seven years old. They were choosing their seats in class and Peridot walked in late, and ended up being assigned to sit next to Jasper. The first thing Jasper noticed about her was her messed up hair and her glasses. 

Jasper remembered her eyes wandering down to Peridot's hand, drawn to the neon green color wrapped around her wrist and three of her fingers.

"What'd you do?" she asked. Peridot lifted up her arm a little for Jasper to look, resting her own eyes on it as well. "My fingers are broken." she stated simply. "They have to be taped up together in a cast."

Jasper nodded, suddenly rising from her seat and walking away from her desk, wandering off to somewhere else in the classroom. Peridot raised an eyebrow at this, but didn't give it much thought. She didn't really care if the girl sat next to her or not, she prefered to be alone anyways. If anything, she was doing her a favor by just up and leaving. Peridot turned her attention back to her worksheet, scribbling down a few wobbly letters and numbers as answers. If she couldn't understand a question, she simply wrote a question mark where the answer should go. She'd ask the teacher about those ones later.

Peridot had gotten about four problems done before Jasper wandered back over, clutching a red marker in her hand. Peridot looked up, giving her a confused expression after spotting the art supply. "Marker?" she questioned "You're not allowed to write your work in marker." Peridot warned.

"I'm not." Jasper stated, taking her seat again before grabbing Peridot's arm, yanking it towards her a little too roughly. " _OWCH!"_ Peridot yelled, yanking her arm away from the girl and throwing her a snotty expression. "Don't touch that you clump!" she yelled.

This time it was Jasper's turn to look confused, and a little angry. "I'm not a clump! Just give me your arm! I'm gonna sign your cast." she said.

Peridot furrowed her eyebrows a little deeper at this. "Sign it? Why would you do that?"

"That's what you're supposed to do when you get a cast! You're supposed to make everyone else sign it!" Jasper explained, making another attempt at grabbing the cast, only to have Peridot yank it away again.

"I don't want anyone to sign it! I like it the way it is!" Peridot snapped back, turning away from Jasper and making an attempt to go back to her worksheet.

Jasper frowned, grumbling to herself as she set the marker down on her desk, staring down at her worksheet with her arms crossed. ". . . You're a dick." she mumbled, continuing to pout while glaring down at her work.

Peridot let out a startled gasp, staring at Jasper with wide eyes before she pushed her seat away from her desk. _"YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO SAY THAT!"_ she exclaimed, practically screaming the teacher's name to rat her out for the language.

Long story short, Peridot got Jasper into big trouble. In return, Jasper pushed Peridot off the playground's slide the next day, breaking another one of her fingers on accident. The day Jasper returned from her newly obtained suspension, Peridot was at her desk, red marker in hand for Jasper to sign her cast with. Jasper won that battle, hands down.

After the incident, the two of them ended up chatting occasionally. Granted, the conversation was either initiated by Jasper, who seemed to want to talk or horse around at the worst possible times in class, or Peridot, who seemed to just want to complain about everything or point out the mistakes on Jasper's homework.

But still, the two talked, considering that neither of them had anyone else to talk to anyways.

The two weren't exactly seen as friends, but they did seem to drift alongside each other pretty easily. They fought, picked on each other and stole each other's art supplies, but they ate lunch together, swung on the swings together, and even, occasionally, played a game or hide-and-seek together. Their 'friendship' wasn't exactly _friendly_ , but it was comfortable.

This continued onto the next grade, and the grade after that, and all the way up until high school, when they met Lapis Lazuli, and she became apart of their weird little friendship group.

At first, Jasper wasn't too keen on adding Lapis in their conversations or at their table at lunch, but the more that Lapis talked, the more she laughed, the more she shared about herself and hung out around the both of them, the more Jasper began to grow comfortable with her. She got used to her company, and even began to enjoy it a little more each day. She eventually became more pleasant to talk to, even a little more than Peridot had been. Granted, Jasper and Peridot had a deeper connection with each other, having known each other for so many years, but the biggest difference between their friendships was the fact that Jasper started to develop a crush on Lapis, just a small one.

Until late senior year.

_Oh boy._

Butterflies, nervousness, awkward silences, weird thoughts, run-on sentences, excuses. She had all of it. It came to the point where it became painfully obvious to Lapis that Jasper had a crush on her, and Lapis was as straightforward about it as she possibly could have been.

Jasper broke Peridot's nose that afternoon.

Peridot was pissed about her nose _(rightfully so)_ , Jasper was pissed that Lapis liked Peridot, and Lapis was pissed at Jasper's reaction to her liking Peridot. All of them were upset, but they didn't stop hanging out around each other. Where else would each of them go, anyways? It wasn't like any of them had any back up friends to go eat lunch with. Over the course of a few days, their moods faded. Jokes were thrown around about their crushes, and soon, they just end up co-existing with their feelings by making fun of them. Whether it was the right way to handle them or not, they didn't seem to care.

 _"This is stupid." Peridot mumbled, stirring around a spoon in her thermos of tomato soup. Jasper smirked, tapping a finger on the thermos to get her attention. "You just don't get it right now._ _You'll get a crush one day. Just wait. We'll make fun of it together just like we're doing now." Peridot rolled her eyes, continuing on with finishing up her lunch while Lapis and Jasper joked besides her, chatting about nothing and making fun of everything._

_"You'll get a crush one day."_

Jasper sighed. "She's got a crush and can't think straight."

Garnet nodded, seeming to have gotten the reply that she was looking for. "And you?"

Jasper raised an eyebrow. "What about me?" 

"You tell me." Garnet said.

Jasper threw a dirty look in her direction. "I don't get the point of-"

"Just keep going." Garnet replied, turning her head back to face the machine as she worked, although her attention was kept focused on Jasper.

Jasper frowned, frustrated as she threw herself back into thoughts, this time about herself.

In an overall summary, Jasper's life growing up was _frustrating._ She grew up in a big house. Dad was an alcoholic. Mom was constantly stressed out. Siblings were constantly all over her and bothering her just for the giggles and attention. Jasper got made fun of a lot in school for her Vitiligo, which unfortunately, started at an early age for her. Throughout the whole span of stressful events in Jasper's life, exercise eventually became her means to escape. It became her outlet, and her way to grow bigger than all the things that were bothering her.

Dads too drunk to drive you to your friend's house? Jog there.

Mom's too busy to help you with homework? Skip doing your homework and start lifting weights to forget about your guilt for not finishing it.

Little sister says you're too big and manly looking to be a girl? Spend the next hour and a half breaking her toys and popping the barbie heads onto the ken dolls.

Some kid at school is constantly asking what race you are? Tell him you're a mix of 'kick' and 'ass' and tell him to buzz off or you'll kick his ass.

Sure, in some cases Jasper went overboard with her strength. She became threatening and hurtful, and could even go too far in certain situations, but the stronger she became, the more strength she felt she had over her emotional issues. She didn't have to sit there and take some kid's jokes. She could get back at her siblings if they got on her nerves. She could, in an ironic way, exercise to get rid of the stress she built up from always being around her stressed out mother. She could intimidate her dad's sorry ass into sobering up once in awhile when she needed him.

It wasn't a good way to deal with some of her problems. A few of her solutions weren't healthy, but hey, what else was she supposed to do? This was the way that worked for her, and this is how things went on until she got into college.

Nowadays, Jasper scheduled workouts on weekends. Lots of the college kids didn't seem to care much about her skin, and the ones that did, well, they were all bark while Jasper was all bite. Peridot and Lapis made time to help Jasper out with her homework, and Jasper no longer had to be stuck in a house with the chaos that was her family. That, and she got to get drunk every now and then too. She figured out why her dad liked it so much. Too bad he almost depended on it to function. Jasper despised that, and had to constantly remind herself that she'd never let herself go that far.

Jasper paused, reviewing over her memories to try and figure out what Garnet wanted from them.

". . . I wanna avoid the problem instead of dealing with it?" she questioned, a bit of hesitation and unwillingness in her voice. She didn't want to talk about this.

Garnet nodded. "And?"

 _"And what?"_ Jasper asked, seeming a little peeved that the reply. "If you think you know all the answers then just tell me already. Don't make me run in circles playing some guessing game." Jasper spat in agitation.

Garnet sighed. "You need to stop acting so violent. You need a gentler approach to things. Peridot isn't going to listen to you if she thinks you're just going to blow up. She's listening to your fists, not your words."

Jasper's eyes widened a little, staring at Garnet with an expression slowly melting into anger. "Oh, am I just supposed to hug her and tell her it'll all be alright then? She got a gentle approach with Lapis. She had her chance."

"Give her another."

"Why should I?"

"Because she needs one. Because you care. Because sometimes it takes more than one try to accomplish something. That's why."

The two remained quiet for a minute, simply listening as the sound of weights clacking and hitting the ground filled their ears. Whirls of fans and the loud voices of the people mingling as they sweat and strained their bodies with the machines.

". . . You just know everything, don't you?" Jasper said, a small smirk brimming on her lips. Garnet smiled, shutting down her machine and pulling her water bottle out of the cup holder. "Almost." she replied, taking the last swig of water from her bottle. "You can take this machine."

Jasper raised an eyebrow. "You're not gonna start again?" Garnet shook her head. "I'm done for the day." she replied, dropping the empty bottle into her bag before zipping it up, tossing Jasper's towel back to her. "Thanks again." she said. Jasper nodded and slung it over her shoulder.

"How'd you know that?" she asked.

Garnet raised an eyebrow. "Know what?"

"What you wanted me to say. How'd you do that? You're like some sort of mind reader or soul searcher or something?"

Garnet grinned a little, breathing out a soft chuckle. "Just good at guessing, I guess."

Jasper shook her head, making her way over to Garnet's machine and stepping onto it, sticking her water bottle in the holder and typing in her information onto the machine. Jasper's eyes widened, spinning her head around to look at Garnet in shock.

"How the hell did you do this!? All my info's already in here!" Garnet smirked, giving a slight shrug of her shoulders. "I have my ways."

Jasper flicked her eyes down at the screen before she turned her attention back to Garnet, the panic slowly draining from her face as it was replaced by a bored expression. "The scales?"

Garnet smiled. "Saw you weighing yourself last week."

"What about my height?"

Garnet shrugged. "Estimated. Compared your height to mine and got lucky."

". . . What number am I thinking of?"

". . . 44?"

Jasper let a smug smile cross onto her face. "43."

Garnet laughed, grabbing her bag and holding it under her arm. "Can't be right all the time."

Jasper nodded, and after a moment of silence between the two, Jasper glanced down at her screen, clicking the start button and slowing moving her body with the machine. ". . .Thanks." Jasper mumbled.

Garnet let a small smile cross over her lips and nodded. "Anytime."

Garnet patted Jasper's shoulder, taking her leave and walking past her machine to the exit.

"I've gotta stop her from fucking things up with Jaune." Jasper huffed, initiating a small conversation with herself, ideas about what Garnet said still fresh in her mind. Garnet stopped, blinking a bit of the surprise from her eyes at hearing the Professor Diamond's name.

"Or _fucking her_ for that matter. . ." Jasper joked, taking the towel draped over her shoulder and dropping it onto her bag, finding it too annoying to be on her shoulder.

_"Hey."_

Jasper looked up at Garnet, a confused expression on her face as Garnet looked back at her, a little bit of worry edged into her usual neutral expression. "Keep Peridot away from Jaune. She's not a very good person." she stated, turning her head back around and taking her leave, leaving Jasper a little surprised and confused. How the hell did Garnet know Jaune? But more importantly, _what_ the hell did show know about her? Why was she a bad person?

Jasper sighed, pumping her arms along with the machine as she picked up the pace with her legs.

Whatever it was, she'd tell Lapis to ask her about it later. Garnet was _her_ roommate, after all, and she had her own to deal with at the moment.


	12. Choices on the Menu

After a couple of hours at the gym, Jasper eventually headed back to the dorms. Peridot was still there when she got back, and the two of them ended up without much to say to each other. Peridot evaded eye contact and Jasper simply ignored her altogether. 

The rest of the night turned out fairly normal, asides from the mildly heavy atmosphere that hung over the two. It wasn't the first time they had gotten into an argument like this, or the first time one of them had stormed out. Usually things would just blow over after a night or two, either that, or Lapis would butt in and fix it for them. So, in some sort of hopes that would be the case again, the two carried on with their routines, making light talk when it was absolutely necessary. They scraped up whatever they could find in the mini fridge for dinner, making themselves comfortable doing their own things. Jasper clicked something on tv, and Peridot took at seat in front of her computer.

Jasper tapped her finger on her knee, her face scrunched up in thought as she mindlessly stared at the commercials that played on the tv's screen.

_'You need to stop acting so violent. You need a gentler approach to things. Peridot isn't going to listen to you if she thinks you're just going to blow up. She's listening to your fists, not your words.'_

Jasper took a deep breath.

_"Peridot."_

Peridot perked up, quickly looking over to her roommate, a little anxiousness edged into her expression.

"Yeah?"

"You know I only said all that crap because I _care_ , right?"

Peridot paused, a bit of surprise crossing over her face. _". . . I guess,_ but, you need to just drop this whole thing, alright? If you honestly do care, you'll leave me to make my own choices."

Jasper let out a quick, frustrated exhale. This wasn't going to work. This whole 'being nice' and 'giving second chances' thing was getting going to get her nowhere in the end. If anything, it would just lead her into giving in and settling for agreeing with Peridot.

 _"Listen."_ Jasper demanded behind her teeth. "I get what you're saying, but you're _wrong._ This whole thing isn't going to work out between you two. You're just gonna end up upset."

Peridot glared back at her. "So what if it doesn't work? It's my relationship, not yours!"

". . . You know what? Screw this. _Fuck this!_ I'm done trying to play nice guy with you!" Jasper growled, stepping off the couch.

Peridot winced, shrinking underneath Jasper's heated expression, letting out a small, startled noise.

"Why do you wanna hang out with her so bad? We're probably better friends to you than she is!"

 _"You're_ a better friend? All you've ever done is _beat me up!_ You broke my _finger_ , you broke my _nose_ , you broke one of my _robots_! Some friend you're supposed to be! You break everything! That's all you ever do! You just get mad over everything and- and-"

"And at least I don't fuck my teacher." Jasper interrupted.

 _"Oh my God."_ Peridot groaned, dragging her palms down her face.

"And you know what?" Peridot picked up again.

"What?"

"I'm gonna go hang out with her right now." Peridot stated, slipping off her bed and marching to the closet.

"Oh you are, are you?" Jasper mocked.

Peridot rolled her eyes and threw open the doors, slipping off her t-shirt. "Yeah, I am!"

"Well what a fucking surprise that is! Are you gonna dress up for her too? Put on a little dress or bow-tie?"

"You know what, _I am!"_

"Good!"

_"Good!"_

"Fine!"

_"Fine!"_

"This argument is a joke!"

 _"You're_ a joke!"

"What did you just say!?"

"This is all ridiculous!" Peridot huffed, angrily buttoning up her white, long sleeve button up before throwing on a black sweater over it.

"You look ridiculous."

"You see! _THIS_ is why you're an asshole of a friend! Why not just give me a pat on the back and say _"Hey, have fun with Jaune tonight, pal!"_

"Because you're going on a date with a woman who's twice as old as you!"

"NO, _no no no_ THIS is where you've got it all wrong! We're not going on a date, we're not dating, we're not doing anything like that!"

"Really? Are you really gonna stand there and tell you and Diamond never did ANYTHING like that together?"

Peridot froze.

Jasper scoffed. _"Told ya."_

Peridot growled and threw the doors to the closet shut. "Whatever. I'm going out."

"Sure you don't need a condom, teacher's pet?"

 _"Screw you!"_ Peridot yelled, slamming the door behind her.

 

~ ~ ~

 

The sound of knocking pounded in Jasper's ears, canceling out the sounds of the tv she that she was trying to watch.

Jasper let out a frustrated groan. _"It's open!"_

Lapis quickly entered through the door, a look of worry highlighted on her face as her eyes scanned across the room, turning back to Jasper. "Jasper, where's Peridot?"

Jasper shrugged. "Out with blondie. She got mad at me and stormed off again. It's becoming' a real bad habit of hers." Jasper mocked. 

Lapis frowned. "That's not good." Lapis said, quickly taking the initiative to dig through Jasper's drawers, fishing for her car keys.

 _"Hey hey hey!"_ Jasper stood up from the couch, defensively walking to her nightstand and shutting the drawer once Lapis pulled the keys out. "What's the big idea!? Why should we care, she doesn't want to listen to us anyways!"

"Yeah, but it doesn't mean we should just stop trying to help her!" Lapis barked back, glaring up at Jasper.

"Jeez, what's gotten into you?" Jasper huffed. 

Lapis sighed "I just talked to Garnet . . . "

 

~ ~ ~

 

Jaune and Peridot were currently seated in a cozy little sports/burger place. It was small, noisy, and all the greasy food might as well have come straight from a fast food joint. Peridot hated it. It was just like the bars that Jasper and Lapis would drag her to. Unfortunately, being a poor college student, burgers would be the _'fanciest'_ choice of lunches that Peridot could muster up for the two of them.

After Peridot left the dorms, she showed up on Jaune's doorstep, offering to treat her to lunch in return for both the dinner and the breakfast that she had made for Peridot. After a moment of Jaune amusing herself with Peridot's formal attire, she agreed.

So, they took their seats, and after a strange moment of formalities and mild embarrassment on Peridot's end, the two eased into light conversation. Jaune kept it going with questions, and Peridot kept it alive with answers. And at the moment, Jaune was questioning Peridot about electronics, and the types of games that she liked to play on them.

"So, which type of video games do you like to play? You seem rather animated about those." Jaune statedly curiously, watching Peridot with attentive and bright eyes. She asked questions about Peridot's interests, asked about her roommates, asked about her schoolwork, asked about anything she thought Peridot might like to talk about.

And Peridot was in Heaven.

Peridot smiled, letting out a nervous laugh as her cheeks grew warm from the attention, practically beaming as she relished in the fact that Jaune was so interested in her, so happy to talk to her, so happy to be eating with her again.

"Well, I mostly play a lot of fun ones, and there's a lot of good games with really good storylines too. But I sort of like the ones with a lot of strategy and puzzles too. There's this one game I really like, it's an rpg game, and i'm not usually really into those but this one, oh God, the plot and puzzles in this one are _so good."_

Peridot went on into a little explanation about the game, occasionally raising her eyes to meet Jaune's as she talked. She smiled when Jaune's lips stretched a little wider.

"That seems like a interesting game. With that kind of storyline, it should really be turned into a movie."

A quick laugh broke through Peridot's grin, she smiled and wrapped her hands around her drink, pulling it closer to her. "Ha, that would be awesome! I'd like to see all the characters brought to life, that'd be so cool." she said, sticking the straw between her smile and taking a sip of her soda.

"So, do you play most of your games on the computer?" Jaune asked, playing around with the food on her plate for a moment before taking another bite, making sure to look back up at Peridot after she finished.

Peridot stuffed another fry in her mouth. "Nah, I mostly play them on a system, unless it's an rpg or some sort of fan-made game."

Jaune nodded, giving Peridot a little smile before she turned back to her food again.

"So, what types of things can you do on your computer, anyways? Back at the post office, you mentioned that you could do quite lot on them, even things that could be . . . _illegal?"_ Jaune asked, a little hint of humor in her voice at the word _'illegal'._

Peridot smirked, dabbing one her fries in a small puddle of ketchup. "Oh, _that._ My dad is pretty good with computers. He hacked into one of his friend's accounts one time when I was younger. I watched him do it and he ended up showing me how to do it too. I learned a couple other tricks from him, and since I didn't have much to do back then, I sort of just taught myself how to do a bunch of that kind of stuff. A lot of online tutorials. A lot of conversations with my dad's friends. Sketchy websites. All that kinda stuff." she explained. "There were a few programming classes and a robotics club back at my high school, so those things taught me a lot too."

"Interesting" Jaune stated with a subtle, surprised tone. She intertwined her fingers and rested her chin on top of them, burning her yellow eyes into the student. "Say that someone would want to track the location of a person using a computer. Would you be able to do that?" she asked, curiosity lacing her tone and a delicate smile on her lips.

 _"Psh,_ yeah. I could probably do that. I haven't tried it before, but if the person has any sort of social media, or is at least related to someone who does, it shouldn't be too hard." Peridot said in a breeze, her index finger resting on her straw, twirling it around her cup and shuffling the ice inside. "Why, is there someone you need to find?" Peridot asked.

"Oh, no reason." Jaune stated, watching as Peridot grimaced and removed her glasses, rubbing off the smudge of grease on them that formed from adjusting them with dirty fingers.

"You're awfully cute without your glasses on. It's an adorable look on you, Peri."

Peridot's face flushed, and she quickly averted her eyes downwards, a sheepish smile on her face. Lapis had called her cute on a number of occasions, and each time she did it made her feel flustered or upset, but when Jaune would say it . . .

". . . You think so?" Peridot hesitantly asked, staring down at her glasses skeptically.

Jaune nodded. "Mhm. Not that you're not cute with them on either, but . . ." a faint smirk crossed over Jaune's lips as her hands slipped back down to the table. Her hand laid besides Peridot's, and a nail gently tapped on the surface of the table.

"I like it much better this way." she breathed.

Peridot bit her tongue, nervously flicking her eyes down to their hands and back up at Jaune's face. Her mind raced between two thoughts, one of them was their movie night, and the other was Jasper.

_'Really? Are you really gonna stand there and say that you and Diamond never did ANYTHING like that together?'_

Peridot stared at Jaune's face. A cool expression was placed onto it, her focused eyes made Peridot's head swim with dizziness from the brightness of their color and the blurriness from her lack of glasses. Jaune stared, waiting expectantly for something. Peridot stared back, sucking in a steep breath of air between her teeth and her lips.

And slipped her hand into Jaune's.

 

~ ~ ~

 

Jasper and Lapis weren't in the parking lot for more than five minutes before Peridot wandered outside, holding open the door for Jaune, who smiled and patted her hair in appreciation.

Lapis and Jasper got out of the car.

 _"Hey! Pointy!"_   Jasper shouted across the parking lot. Peridot turned, a wide-eyed look of shock crossing over her face. She frowned, looking back between Lapis and Jasper in distress as they made their way over.

 _"Guys!?"_ she said in surprise. "What are you _doing_ here!?"

"Peridot, get in the car." Jasper demanded. It was short and to the point, and stirred up a mix of fear and anger in the pit Peridot's stomach.

She furrowed her eyebrows, cocking her head to the side slightly. "What? _Why?_   I'm busy right now! I'm not just going to leave with you guys because you want me to!"

"Peridot." Lapis said carefully. It was subtle, but Lapis was aware of the dirty look Jaune was giving her from behind Peridot.

"Please, come back to the dorms with us."

_"Why?"_

"I just talked to Garnet-"

Jaune's eyes burned, her shining yellow orbs abruptly filling with anger.

 _"Peridot."_ Jaune spoke, the name gliding off her tongue in an icy tone. Peridot froze at the harshness of her full name, rather than the shorter version she had grown familiar and comfortable with.

"I'm not going to wait in a parking lot all night, Peridot." Jaune stated, turning on her heels and making her way to her car.

"W-wait! Where are you going!?" Peridot asked in a panic, watching helplessly as Jaune opened her car door.

"I'll be in my car. I'll wait no longer than five minutes. Make up your mind by then, will you?" she instructed. With that, the door slammed shut, and the engine started up.

"What- _what is wrong with you guys!?"_ Peridot blurted angrily, turning to face her friends with an upset look on her face.

"There's nothing wrong with _us!_ There's something wrong with _her!_ She want's so do something bad, Peridot, and she's just using you to help her do it!"

"What are you talking about? She's not doing anything wrong!"

 _"Yes she is!"_ Lapis defended.

"Oh yeah? Then what is it exactly, huh?" 

"We don't know yet, but-"

"Then you don't have any proof!"

"It's something to do with Rose!"

Peridot stopped, expressions of shock and bewilderment blending together on her face.

". . . How do _you_ know about Rose? What does she have to do with any of this?"

 _"Come with us and we'll tell you."_ Lapis breathed, a faintly weary tone in her voice.

Peridot looked back at her desperately. _"Lapis,_ I can't just leave! She'll hate me if I do! Do you _see_ how mad she is!?"

"Peridot, you can't keep up with this little 'relationship' you have going on with her. She's your _teacher_ and-" Jasper started, abruptly cut off by Lapis.

"And she's **_using_ ** you peridot! She doesn't even like you, trust us, _please!_ She's going to make you do something that you'll regret! Are you really going to choose her over your friends!?" Lapis asked, desperation heavy in her voice and expression.

Peridot stalled. Was that really what she was doing? What if she lost her friends over this? What if they never spoke to her again?

What if Jaune never spoke to her again?

Peridot shook those thoughts out of her mind. "I'm not choosing anyone! I just, I want to be with her okay!? And . . . and I want to be with you guys _too!"_

Jasper gave her a heavy stare. ". . . Well, make up your mind, because we don't want you hanging out with her, and apparently, she has a problem with you hanging out with us."

Peridot remained silent, staring at the black, rocky pavement under her feet. She didn't want to choose. She wanted to have it both ways. But whether she wanted it that way or not, there was still one thing she couldn't get around.

_Which car was she going home in?_

After a few moments of silence, Jasper scoffed. "Fine. Be with blondie if that's what you really want. I'm getting back in the car." she said, making her way past Lapis and over their vehicle. "Either that, or you can walk home." she added before slamming the door, similarly to the way Jaune had done a few minutes ago.

Peridot lifted her eyes up to meet Lapis's, and they stared at eachother for what felt like too long of a time. Peridot was surprised that Jaune hadn't left by now. She could still hear the engine a few parking spaces away, which was soon accompanied by the sound of Jasper's car engine. Peridot was grateful to have some noise making up for the lack of words being said.

"Peridot . . . " Lapis said softly. "I know that Jaune means a lot to you. I know what it's like to find someone who seems perfect, who admire, but you need to be _careful._ Jaune doesn't have the right intentions with you, even if it seems like she does. She's not going to care about you after she's done with all of this."

Peridot frowned. There was a look of hurt in her eyes that complimented her conflicting expression. She didn't say anything.

"I know it seems like we've been picking on you for something that seems like it's not a big deal, but it _is._ You're only _twenty,_ Peridot! You can't even _drink_ yet and you haven't even finished college! You're getting involved with a woman who's twice as old as you who you barely even know! And if that doesn't worry you at all, then we have a _reason_ now! Garnet knows about Jaune, Peridot. She's- . . ." Lapis sighed.

 _"Come home with us."_ Was Lapis's final attempt at convincing her. She waited for a couple of seconds before she left, got into the car, and shut the door.

Peridot was left alone on the pavement, engines roaring in her ears and conflict in her head. She felt relieved to finally be left alone, but . . .

Peridot had a choice to make.


	13. Let's Think It Over

Jasper slammed the car door shut, letting out a heavy huff as she placed her elbow on the window, resting her cheek in her palm. She sat in silence for the better part of a minute before Lapis finally followed her back, taking a seat upfront with her.

"Well? Is she coming or what?" Jasper asked.

Lapis gave a little shrug, leaning her body against the door and resting her head on the window, ruffling up a portion of her dark hair. "I don't know. I just left her standing out there."

Jasper exhaled, sitting up in her seat and grabbing ahold of the gear shift, shifting the car into drive. "Well, i'm not waiting here all night for her to make up her mind." 

"Wait!" Lapis interrupted, flinging her hands on top of Jasper's to stop her. "Just give her another minute, _please_. Just one more, and then we can go. I promise."

Jasper went stiff, staring down at her hand before quickly looking back up to Lapis. Her heartbeat pounded loudly in her head for a moment before she gripped the gear shift, switching it back over to park and swiftly slipping her hand away, crossing her arms and turning her back to Lapis. She could feel her face beginning to turn red and flustered.

". . . A-alright! One more minute!  _Just_ one. Got it?"

Lapis nodded, a relieved look settling onto her face. She leaned back in her seat and opted to staring out her window. She couldn't see Peridot from where she was at, but she could make out the shape of Jaune's car, lit up from the inside and waiting patiently for Peridot, just like they were. Hopefully it would be worthwhile.

They waited for around a minute, just as Lapis wanted, before Jasper scoffed, throwing her hand back on top of the shift. "See. I _knew_ that she wasn't-" Jasper was cut off by the sound of their car door opening, followed by quiet shuffling and the door shutting again. Jasper stared into the rearview mirror in surprise, taken aback at seeing Peridot's face in the backseat.

Peridot kept her eyes on the floor, a mixture of regret, annoyance and sadness on her face. She silently buckled her seatbelt, leaned her head back, and shut her eyes.

No one said anything, and after a moment, Jasper started the car, backing it up and driving off.

They didn't see Jaune's car as they left. Jasper and Lapis silently decided not to ask about her either.

Although Peridot chose them, there was an atmosphere over the three of them that didn't feel as relieving as it should have. Peridot seemed tired, and Jasper didn't seem to have any comments to make. However, Lapis seemed to be comfortable in the silence. Aside from occasionally glancing at her friend in the rearview mirror, she kept her eyes outside her window, smiling almost the entire ride back.

 

~ ~ ~

 

Lapis walked closely beside Peridot as they made their way back to the rooms. Jasper trailed behind them, still seeming to have a lack of words to say.

Lapis leaned against the door frame as Peridot pulled out her keys, fiddling with the lock to get it open.

"So, how do you feel?" Lapis asked.

 _". . . Like garbage."_ Peridot mumbled, dropping her head down to hit the door, abandoning the key in the door knob. "She hates me now. I know she _hates_ me now. She's never going to talk to me again." Peridot whined, lifting her head up slightly just to let it drop back down again, hitting the door with a soft _'thud'._

Jasper rolled her eyes. "So what? You made the right choice. You're better off not talking to her anyways."

"Oh yeah? And why's that?" Peridot asked dishearteningly.

"Cuz' she's got a bad reputation, that's why." Jasper said, moving Peridot to the side so she could unlock the door herself.

"Yeah right. What did Jaune ever do that was so bad." Peridot asked, a little defensiveness edged into her tone.

Jasper unlocked the door, stepping inside and throwing Peridot's keys onto her computer chair. "Her whole family's been nothing but manipulative assholes to everyone, and she's no better. Her parents did a lot of shitty things to people and it turns out that their kids aren't too different. The only right one out of all of them was Rose I guess."

Peridot furrowed her eyebrows, following Jasper inside. "Okay, but what did _she_ do. She's been perfectly nice to _me_ this whole time."

"Yeah, and that's part of her game." Jasper clarified, grabbing a water bottle from the small refrigerator before shutting it's door. "She's lied, she's cheated people, she's taken what isn't hers, and she has some really messed up priorities. And, overall, she wants to use you for one of them." Jasper said, earning herself a defeated look from her friend.

 _"Guys."_ Peridot said, taking off her glasses and rubbing her eyes. "Can I just . . . can I just take a break? I don't wanna talk about this anymore, I just . . . want to lye down, okay?"

Jasper and Lapis frowned at each other, staring back at their friend in concern.

"Yeah, that's fine." Lapis sighed, walking over to Peridot and giving her a quick hug. "Just sleep on it, okay?"

Peridot nodded, waiting for Lapis to be done. Lapis smiled at her, giving a quick goodbye to Jasper before leaving the two to themselves.

Peridot walked over to her bed, taking a seat and falling onto her back, not bothering to take her shoes off before pulling her legs up with her. It felt like just a couple seconds ago she was sitting in that little restaurant, talking to Jaune, holding her hand . . . She left Jaune there and she probably wanted _nothing_ to do with her again. She got a chance and she blew it. Peridot didn't exactly regret coming back with Jasper and Lapis, but . . .

Jasper ran her hands down her face, taking a seat on her own bed. _"Look."_

Peridot rolled her eyes. _Here we go._

"I'm sorry I've been such an ass to you lately."

Peridot raised an eyebrow, glancing over to her roommate.

"I'll let you figure this out by yourself if that's what you want. But just . . . be smart about it, alright? I know you're one of the geekiest kids around, but you're not too bright socially, Dot." Jasper explained.

Peridot scowled. "I'm good socially! I do just fine talking to people! What the hell are you talking about miss _'I'll punch your lights out if you look at me wrong'."_

Jasper smirked, taking off her shoes and tossing them onto Peridot's bed, much to her disliking. "Oh really? Remember when we were little and you thought that making fun of people was the best way to make you sound funny?"

Peridot threw Jasper's shoes back at her. Jasper dodged them, and each shoe hit the wall with a _'bump'._

"That was forever ago! I didn't know any better!" Peridot yelled defensively.

"Dot, you made a kid cry."

"You gave me a bloody nose! Talk about communication skills, you clod!"

"Right there! That too! You've been calling everyone _'clods'_ or _'pebbles'_ for God knows how many years now! That's not exactly good social skills either."

"Y-yeah, well . . . y-you broke one of my robots!"

"Will you stop talking about all the stuff I broke? Geez, I get it! I'm a buff chick, what am I supposed to do about it?" Jasper asked nonchalantly.

"How about you try and control yourself some more. You've got guns but it doesn't mean you've gotta shoot people with them."

". . ."

"What?"

"That is by far one of the stupidest things you've ever said to me."

Peridot's face grew red. She sat up abruptly, whipping one of her pillows into Jasper's face. _"Shut up!"_

Jasper laughed, grabbing the pillow and tossing it back over. "Calm down! It was a joke! Geez. Don't get so worked up."

Peridot sighed, laying back down on her bed, resting her head on the abused pillow and shutting her eyes. "Yeah yeah, whatever." she grumbled.

Jasper sat there a moment, exhaling before standing back up. "I'm gonna get in the shower." she said, making her way over to the bathroom and pausing by the door.

"Hey . . . For what it's worth, i'm glad you came back with us. I didn't think you would, but, it's good you did."

Peridot remained silent, lying unmoving on her bed.

". . . She wasn't gonna last forever, you know." Jasper stated before walking into the bathroom and shutting the door.

Peridot turned onto her side, burying her face half-way into the pillow. "Yeah." she mumbled "I know."

 

~ ~ ~

 

The morning went by in a groggy fog for Peridot. When she got up, Jasper had already left for one of her morning classes. Peridot got ready for her own duties, getting ready for work while tiredness clung desperately onto her mind. Getting dressed, she recalled having a couple fairly strange dreams last night. Like most nights, they were either immediately forgotten, too boring to remember, or too much of a blur to decipher. The only thing that seemed to stand out over all of them was the consistent amount of yellow throughout them all.

 

~ ~ ~

 

Peridot stared down at the computer screen lazily, listing off the colors that the brand of computer could come in for the customer in front of her. After a long, tiring process of explaining the qualities and programs on the device, convincing them to purchase it, and picking out the color and additional accessories, Peridot finally rang them up, sending them on their way with a new laptop and charger. Peridot slumped down, resting her elbows on the counter, cupping her face in her hands and attempting to rest for a little while. Unfortunately, she could only get away with it for about a minute or two before Pearl called her out on it.

"Hey! We can't be resting on the job. You know that, Peridot."

Peridot grumbled, slowly sitting back up and opening her eyes, staring out into the near empty store in frustration.

"Worth a shot." Peridot mumbled, tapping her fingers onto the countertop in boredom.

Pearl frowned, observing Peridot's face for a moment before making way over, setting down the small box of packaged headphones she was carrying.

"Are you doing alright today? You don't look very . . . alert."

 _'Alert'_ being fairly nice way of saying _'you look half-dead'._

Peridot rolled her eyes. "I'm fine. I don't need any help. You can go."

"Oh really?" Pearl questioned. "And you've been able to function properly enough to get your work done?"

 _"Yup."_ Peridot responded shortly. "All finished. Go look yourself if you're that concerned."

Pearl stood there a moment, unsure of where to take the conversation next. Sure, Peridot was awake, and there didn't seem to be any trouble with the tasks that she completed, but she just seemed . . . more lethargic than usual. A little under the weather. Most of the time she was either cranky, competitive, or overly consumed in her work. Today she seemed much more . . . dreary. 

Pearl in took a breath, exhaling as she folded her hands together in front of her, setting them down on the countertop. "Listen, Peridot." she began "I am . . . concerned about you. If you have a problem you'd like to discuss with me, be it a work related or personal issue, i'd be glad to assist you in handling it."

Peridot blinked slowly, letting out a sigh before dropping her head down into her palm. "I didn't sleep well last night."

"Do you need to go take a break?" Pearl offered.

"No. Like I told you before, I'm fine. I just . . . have to deal with something when I get home."

"What seems to be the issue?" 

Peridot bit her lip, letting out a groan as she hid part of her face in her hand, covering up half of her mouth and one of her eyes. "It's just . . . I . . . wanna be around this person, but she . . . I don't think I should? At least, my friends don't think I should. And I think they're right but I really, really, _really_ don't want them to be right because I just . . . I just like her a lot." Peridot fumbled to explain, her face turning red with frustration and embarrassment.

Pearl stood, listening intently to the situation before closing her eyes, letting out a soft laugh and offering a smile. "Well, that seems familiar. Honestly, I understand your state of mind right now. I was in a similar situation a few years ago."

Peridot hesitantly raised her eyes to meet her co-worker's. "Really?" she asked skeptically.

Pearl nodded. "Yes. I have. So, who's this person you're speaking about? What's their name?"

Peridot sighed. "It's Jaune."

Pearl stifled at this, looking up at Peridot with a skeptical expression on her face. ". . . Jaune  _Diamond?"_

Peridot frowned. "Um . . . yeah, why?"

Pearl stood up straight. "How do _you_ know Jaune?"

Peridot raised an eyebrow. "She's . . . my professor. How do _you_ know her?"

Pearl blinked, a surprised look crossing over her face. "O-oh. Well, um, that's a rather long story. I'd rather not-"

Peridot rolled her eyes. "You wanna help me with my problem? Tell me what you know about Jaune. You'd be doing me a favor. Trust me."

Pearl glanced around nervously, letting out a shaky breath and nodding. "Well, I suppose . . . You see, I was very good friends with one of her sisters, Rose Quartz." Pearl paused a moment. ". . . I won't bore you with _details_ but, she was a beautiful, kind, amazing woman who I really . . . looked up to."

Peridot huffed, a deep frown set on her face. "Definitely sounding familiar . . . "

Pearl nodded. "However, the family she was from wasn't particularly the same. They had some rather . . . unethical priorities. Rose eventually came to a point where she didn't want to be apart of that kind of household any longer. She decided she wanted to leave. And she did. She left with . . . _Greg."_ Pearl stated, a bitter sounding tone in her voice. "They ran off together. Somewhere. She never told us where she was planning on leaving to."

". . . Jaune made it sound like Rose leaving their family was the worst things in the world." Peridot breathed, glaring down at the counters. "I thought she was jerk. I didn't know _that's_ why she left. She made it sound like Rose was just some rebellious kid with a boyfriend . . . " Peridot frowned, slipping her finger tips under her glasses to rub her eyes.

". . . What did you mean by _'us'?"_

"Oh! I'm sorry. Well, I wasn't the _only_ acquaintance of Rose's. My friends, Garnet and Amethyst, were also fairly close to her . . . but not as much as _I_ was." Pearl mumbled under her breath. 

Peridot snickered a little, which slowly died down to a sad smile. ". . .Thanks for the story, Pearl."

"Of course! I hope this helps you with your little predicament."

"I think it will."

"Very good." Pearl stated in a lighter tone. "I'll see to it that your next task is taken care of properly. You can continue to rest back here and maintain the counter for a little while. You still appear to be a little tired." Pearl offered kindly.

Peridot gave another nod. "Thanks." she mumbled, giving Pearl an embarrassed smile.

With that, Pearl took her leave, lifting up the box of ear buds and taking it with her as she went.

 

~ ~ ~

 

Peridot stepped out into the parking lot, making her way over to her car. A part of her felt a flutter of excitement, feeling as if Jaune might pull up at any minute, offering her a ride in the perfume scented vehicle.

But she didn't.

Peridot sighed, trudging over to her _own_ car and taking a seat inside. She sat there for a moment, unmotivated to actually start up the car and take on the responsibility of driving. She ran her hand down her face and dropped her head onto the steering wheel, letting her thoughts drift around for a few minutes.

So overall, she had a crush on, or maybe was in love with her professor. Her friends pointed out that it was wrong for them to be 'romantic' with each other. And as it turns out, there's a chance that her professor didn't even like her to begin with. Even if she did, Peridot pretty much ruined _that_ last night. 

Peridot took a deep breath, letting out a quick, frustrated exhale before sitting up and starting up her car.

She had to figure this out. She wasn't just going to just live with her crush and joke around about it like Lapis and Jasper did. She was going to talk to Jaune about it. She didn't exactly have a plan, but talking to her and explaining everything seemed like the best possible option she had. Walking into her class without having anything resolved would be too awkward. She needed to get it out of the way and see what would happen. She would see what Jaune would have to say and then she would go from there.

So that was the plan. Peridot was going to go visit Jaune to talk it over with her.

She just had to run the idea by Jasper and Lapis.


	14. Late Night Discussion

**Merry Christmas! :)**

 

_~~~_

 

The conversation that took place with Lapis and Jasper was . . . _stressful,_ to put simply.

It took Peridot a good couple of minutes to get her reasoning through to them, but once they finally gave her a chance to explain herself, they complied, and Peridot was free to go visit with Jaune without the disapproval of her friends.

However, Peridot was, rather begrudgingly, forced to agree to tell them everything that took place once she got back. Lapis and Jasper weren't particularly happy with the arrangement, and felt that if Peridot just ended everything now, all would be good, and the three could go back to normal. However, Peridot felt the need to talk things over with Jaune. Leaving the professor on bad terms was the absolute last thing in the world that she wanted to do, and truthfully, whether her friends agreed to it or not, she was going to visit her and get things worked out. Maybe, maybe she'd have to agree not to be so . . . _'touchy'_  with her. Although Peridot refused to admit that's what they were doing, it was hard to avoid the reality of the situation. She liked her teacher. Her teacher seemed to be a little . . . flirty? Charming? Either way, their relationship wasn't as platonic or professional as it should have been.

Peridot wished it didn't have to be that way.

But unfortunately, it was.

And she was going to get everything worked out tonight. If not for her own sake, then for her friend's sake, because it sure as heck seemed to be important to them.

 

_~~~_

 

It was around seven-thirty when Peridot headed out to Jaune's house, and it was just starting to get dark outside.

Once she arrived, it took her a couple of minutes to work up the nerve to get out of her car and step up to the porch. Once she finally did, she took few shaky breaths before she could manage to ring the doorbell. 

Unfortunately though, the time she spent waiting for her professor to answer only worked to build up her anxiety.

 

Oh God, what if she was mad about leaving her at the restaurant?

What if she told me to leave?

What if she thought I was an awful person?

_What if she hated me?_

 

That last thought was too much to bare, and Peridot quickly shook it out of her mind. Luckily, the door finally creaked open, yanking Peridot from her thoughts and giving her some distraction from her worries.

To Peridot's surprise, Jaune looked a little . . . _off._

Her hair seemed a little more messy than it should have. Her eyes looked faintly foggy, and her clothing wasn't prim and tucked in like it usually was. Instead, it looked looser. Peridot winced and covered her nose and mouth with her hand. There was a familiar scent that she recognized from the nights she would take Lapis and Jasper out to the bars.

Jaune was drunk, or at the very least, had been drinking.

Jaune eyed Peridot up and down, a frown forming on her lips and a look of disdain setting in along her facial features.

 _"What?"_ she asked in a harsh, almost whispery breath. Peridot pinched her nose a little tighter.

She was definitely drunk.

"Um . . . I- I wanted to talk. I- uh . . . I wanted to say sorry. I just . . . Could I come in, please?" Peridot asked hesitantly. She honestly didn't want to go inside while Jaune was in this kind of state, but up and leaving seemed like an even worse option than the first. _Been there, done that._ It was one of the reasons she was here in the first place, wasn't it?

After a moment, and a reluctant sigh, Jaune stepped out of the way, making room for Peridot to step inside.

"Please don't take too long. I'm not really in the best state of mind for conversation right now." Jaune stated wearily. Peridot nodded and quickly stepped inside.

She expected to get some sort of invitation to sit down, or to follow Jaune out to the living room, but Jaune remained by the door, leaning back on the wall behind her and staring down at Peridot, an expectant expression on her face.

". . . Well?" the professor urged. "What do you need?"

Peridot shifted uncomfortably, finding it awkward to have to look up at the woman rather than being at eye-level with her, like they would be if they were seated.

"I just . . . I wanted to talk about last night. I'm sorry I walked out on you . . . but I thought I needed to? I mean, not that I wanted to or anything! I just, thought it would be better if I went with my friends, because they're worried and they said you might be . . . tricking me or something and I just wanted to um . . . make the right choice . . . I think . . ."

Peridot's eyes darted around as she spoke, avoiding the foggy yellow eyes in return for eyeing up the walls, the floor, the photos, and the visible parts of the living room. Anything other than Jaune. But once she was finished, they reluctantly fell back onto her.

Her expression hadn't changed at all.

". . . They believe i'm manipulating you?" she asked in a quiet, irritated tone. Peridot swallowed thickly, giving a simple nod of her head.

"Y-yeah . . ." she replied shakily. "Is . . . are they right?"

Jaune stared down at her, giving her a slow blink and a careless shrug of her shoulders. "I need your help."

Peridot's face dropped. "But . . . they're right, aren't they?" she asked, her voice dropping into a shameful and discouraged tone. Although the saying was cheesy and overused, Peridot swore she could feel her heart break.

_Jaune didn't like her at all, did she?_

Jaune's eyes rested on Peridot's face. A few clear thoughts seemed to be running through her drunken, swimming mind.

Peridot came to apologize. Peridot seemed to have a clue about what Jaune was doing. Peridot was upset.

She needed to change the situation. _Now._

Jaune took a step forward. _"Peri . . ."_ she breathed softly.

Peridot winced and turned her head to the side. Jaune's breath was bitter-sweet, like a tart wine and something along the lines of cranberry or orange juice. Maybe that's what she was drinking? Peridot didn't know, and she didn't care either. She hated the smell of alcohol altogether, whether it was beer or wine or coolers. _She hated it._ She loved Jaune, but, she wasn't comfortable right now. Not with this type of Jaune, who seemed less composed and less . . . well, like herself.

Peridot looked up swiftly once she felt hands on her shoulders. Her heart thudded painfully in her chest. Jaune was staring down at her, and once Peridot took a small step backwards, Jaune took two forward, pressing Peridot gently against the wall.

 _"You're my favorite student, you know."_   Jaune murmured.

Peridot shut her eyes tightly. Her heart fluttered in excitement and she bit her lip, trying to keep her mind focused.

"Wh-what . . . what do you need my help with?" Peridot choked out. She couldn't think straight, so she decided to allow pretty much anything to tumble out of her mouth without much thought to it. It was better than saying nothing.

Jaune smiled, leaning her head down and resting her forehead on Peridot's.

 _"I just want to find my sister. That's all."_ she stated cooly.

Peridot lifted a hand to cover her nose. ". . . That's why you started talking to me, isn't it?" Peridot murmured. Jaune gently took Peridot's hand in her own, removing it from her face and lowering it slightly.

 _"And why is that such a bad thing?"_   Jaune questioned.

"B-b-because . . . y-you don't . . . you d-didn't . . . you don't really like m-me." Peridot stammered. Her thoughts told her to pull her hand out of Jaune's, but she found herself gripping onto it a little tighter.

_What the hell was going on?_

She couldn't function right, she couldn't speak normally, and she couldn't move her body. She wanted to move away from Jaune but . . . _why?_ Why did she want to get away from Jaune again? What was she supposed to be mad at her about? Jaune didn't really do anything wrong, did she?

 _"Peridot."_   Jaune smiled, gently lifting up Peridot's hand and pressing it back against the wall, easily intertwining their fingers together. She lowered her head down a little more, placing it just in between Peridot's ear and her pinned hand.

 _"Of course I like you . . . "_ she whispered softly.

Peridot's shoulder's lurched from sudden chills up her spine. Jaune's empty hand gently moved from Peridot's shoulder to her neck, gently caressing it. A few fingers lingered on her throat while the others moved underneath her chin, lifting her head up to face Jaune.

Peridot's breathing quickened.

She couldn't think.

What was there to think about?

Jaune's lips gently pressed against the corner of Peridot's mouth, her mind swimming in too deep a pool of alcohol to have hit the mark. Peridot tensed, and although her mind didn't seem to be present, her body seemed to have a mind of it's own to work with. Peridot's head slowly turned itself to the side until Jaune's mouth was on top of her own.

And neither of them moved for some time.

Once Jaune seemed to get it through her mind to stop, her head lifted slightly, putting a little bit of distance between both of their faces.

 _"Could you please help me?"_ Jaune asked in a soft, sweet tone. Peridot blinked the foggyness from her eyes, nodding a little as she did so.

"Y- . . . yeah. O-of course I can. _Of course."_  

Peridot silently watched as Jaune trailed her hand down Peridot's arm, tracing it back upwards again until it rested on Peridot's cheek.

 _"Thank you."_ she breathed, resting her lips on Peridot's forehead for a second before she took a step back, leaving Peridot dazed and moonstruck against the wall of the semi-familiar house.

Peridot took a quick, swallow breath, looking up at Jaune and biting her lip.

"Let me just . . . I'm going to go get my laptop." she said quickly, fumbling with the handle to the door before she rushed outside, fumbling again to unlock her car door.

Was it this warm outside when she arrived?

Peridot shook her head and grabbed the computer in the passenger's seat, slamming the door before making her way back inside.

The funny thing was, Peridot couldn't really remember why she came here in the first place.

 _But hell,_ was she glad she did.


	15. Coffee Grounds and Smiles

Jaune woke up in a groggy haze, attempting to blink and rub away the exhaustion from her eyes.

The first thing that she realized was she was in her living room, laying down on one of her recliner chairs. The second thing that she realized was Peridot sitting on her couch, staring intently at her laptop's screen with tired, droopy eyes.

_Oh, right._

_Peridot had come over last night, hadn't she?_

The majority of the details concerning last night's events were a blur to Jaune. Although she didn't consider herself to be _entirely_ intoxicated, she believed she was under enough of an influence to have had some . .  . _irrational actions,_ although she couldn't exactly remember what those were. 

She remembered some type of warmth, doing something with her hands, and being very, very close to Peridot, who had seemed upset at the time, she believed. If anything, Jaune just assumed that it had something to do with holding hands once again, that had happened twice before, hadn't it?

Jaune didn't necessarily know, nor did she care all too much. Peridot seemed fine, and Jaune was too tired to put any energy into thinking any further into it.

Not that she _could_ think with the constant clicking coming from Peridot's computer. 

Peridot's fingers were quickly tapping across the buttons of the machine, and Jaune found the sound to be growing fairly more irritating by the second in her half-awake state of mind.

Jaune slowly raised herself up from her previous position and set her arms on her knees, giving out a tired groan as she waited for her mind to clear up and become more alert. Peridot perked up and quickly turned to face Jaune, a bright smile now pasted on her face.

"Jaune! I'm glad your awake, I made you some coffee. I hope that it's alright I went through your kitchen, but I thought-"

Jaune lifted her hand to stop the student mid-explanation, giving Peridot simple a nod of her head as she reached for the mug sitting on the coffee table.

"Well, that was thoughtful of you." Jaune stated quietly, taking a short sip from the mug before setting it on an end table, turning back to stare at Peridot's tired face.

"You didn't sleep."

"Of course not. You asked for my help, so, I've been looking for your sister." Peridot stated matter-of-factly. Although her face displayed an obvious need for sleep, her voice was clear and awake, and she spoke as she normally would have on any other day.

Jaune blinked, alertness quickly making it's way into her system.

"And?" 

"Well, from what I've collected, Rose Quartz is currently located in small town called _'Beach City'_." Peridot stated, turning her eyes back to her screen again, squinting and rubbing her eyes under her glasses, preparing to adjust them to the artificial light once more. "I believe that she's still associated with the man you mentioned before, _Greg,_ I think. And she also-"

 _"Beach City?"_ Jaune murmured, a subtle, surprised expression settling onto her face.

"Um, yes." Peridot frowned, quickly pulling up a map online before turning her screen to face Jaune, who studied it carefully, her expression slowly becoming softer.

"Beach City." Jaune stated repeated, a small grin growing on her face before she let of a small laugh.

"Well, I never would've thought she would have chosen such a boring little town." Jaune said, picking up her coffee mug once again, and wincing after she took another sip.

She just realized how unbelievably sweet it was.

She set the mug back down and continued.

"She always seemed to be rather interested in the fun, spontaneous or unique places and things in life. I would never have guessed she would choose to run off to some quiet little area such as that."

Peridot nodded, soaking in the words Jaune spoke before turning to her computer, typing and clicking once again. 

"Well, um, there's a little more information I've found than just that, you see."

Jaune lifted her eyes. ". . . And what would that be?"

"Well, um, I'm not sure if you're aware, but Rose Quartz seems to have, um, a kid. Steven, his name is."

Jaune sat in silence for a moment, eventually letting her eyes fall shut as she let out a small exhale.

_"That complicates things."_

Peridot settled her eyes back on the woman with a questioning look on her face.

"Um . . . Jaune?" 

"Hm?"

"What um, why exactly do you want to meet your sister again? I mean, what are you doing to do when you find her, exactly?"

Jaune shook her head. "You don't have to worry about that at the moment. That part doesn't concern you." Jaune responded half-heartedly, her mind seeming to be wandering to places outside their conversation.

Peridot frowned, nodded her head and set her laptop down on the coffee table.

"I can, uh, send you an email with all the information I've acquired."

"Please."

And with that, the clicking began again.

Jaune eyed Peridot's expression for a moment.

She appeared to be tired, anxious, curious, and just a little happy.

That was good, Jaune thought. She needed to keep her happy. Just in case there was any more potential use for her. 

Which would most definitely _not_ be for making any more coffee.

". . . Peridot?"

Peridot raised her head up to face the woman. 

"Why don't you get some rest."

"But, _your email-_ "

"You can send it to me later." Jaune instructed. "I want you to get some rest before you leave."

"But-"

"I'd like you to be safe on your way home. Exhaustion isn't going to do you any help while driving."

". . . Are you sure?"

"I wouldn't be offering if I wasn't."

Peridot felt a nervous smile creep onto her face. She nodded, shutting the top of her laptop and sliding it back into the case. 

"Where should I-"

"The couch is fine. I'll get you a blanket." Jaune stated, standing up and making her way elsewhere in the house, retrieving the exact same blanket Peridot had slept with the night they watched that movie together.

Jaune smiled faintly, and made her way back into the living room.

"Here you are." she said, handing Peridot the blanket.

Peridot thanked her and laid down against a armrest, taking off her glasses and setting them down on the table.

Peridot's stomach filled up with butterflies again.

Why did it feel so casual for her to be sleeping on this couch? 

It felt nerve wracking and little strange, but it felt normal.

It felt nice.

It felt _right._

"Do you have your phone on hand at the moment?" Jaune asked.

"Yeah, do you need it?"

"I just thought i'd inform your friends of your whereabouts while you rest. Would you mind?"

"Oh, no, of course not! Thanks, but I can do it, it's fine-"

"You need to rest. I'd like to do it." Jaune stated.

"Um . . . alright, here." Peridot agreed, handing over her phone to Jaune and quickly giving her the password.

"I'll be heading upstairs so I don't disturb you." Jaune said, beginning to make her way out of the room.

 _"Wait!_ Uhm, Jaune?" 

Jaune stopped.

"Yes, Peri?"

"Did you uh . . . like the coffee?"

Jaune couldn't help but let a grin slip onto her face.

". . . Yes, it was fine. Thank you for making it for me, and thank you for finding my sister. I appreciate your help very much."

And with that, Jaune made her way upstairs.

 

 

_~~~_

 

 

It only took about half a ring before the phone was picked up.

"Where the hell have you _been_ , Peridot! I thought this was only going to take a couple of hours! We told you this was a shitty idea! What have you two been _doing?"_

". . . Well, if you're finished berating me with questions, i'll be glad to explain to you our scenario." Jaune stated with a huff. There was a moment of silence on the other line, besides what Jaune could make out to be a couple of hushed whispers, and then a much lighter voice took over the line.

". . . Miss Diamond?" the voice asked, hesitant, but also a strong distastefulness in her tone.

"Yes. Now would you like to ask another question, or would you like the answer while I still have the patience to give it to you?" she asked.

". . . The answer, please." the voice reluctantly spoke.

"Peridot came to speak with me last night, as I assume you both understand." Jaune began.

"We spoke, and I understand that the way me and your friend have been communicating is making you both rather uncomfortable, and Peridot rather confused. We agreed that our little conversations should end and that I should allow Peridot to return to her regular routine with you both. We'll remain in contact for educational purposes, and that is all. We spoke about this for a rather long time last night, as you can imagine, Peridot was rather uneasy and tired. I allowed her to spend the night one last time. She'll be returning back to you once she wakes up. We apologize for the concern we've caused."

". . . I don't buy it. Not from you." the voice stated.

"If she's not back to you by three o'clock, then feel free to assume whatever you'd like. Until then, you'll just have to accept my word for it."

There was another short silence before the gruff-toned voice returned.

 _"Make it one."_ was all she said before she hung up.

Jaune placed the phone down on the counter and sighed. She'd have to explain something similar to Peridot in terms of their future communications with each other. She would leave the girl in good terms just in case, but she would also make sure that their contact with each other would become more limited.

Jaune ran a hand over her eyes, letting out a breath of frustration. She had enough to be deal with concerning her sibling at the moment, and the last thing that she needed was to have two upset college students on her back about the whole thing.

Jaune soundlessly stepped downstairs and back into the living room to pick up her mug of coffee, taking note that Peridot appeared to be already asleep. Jaune looked from Peridot back down to the now cold liquid gently stirring in the cup, and accepted the small grin that placed itself on her face.

At least Peridot hadn't been too much of a pain to be around.

No, she was rather enjoyable to spend time with in the end.

Jaune smiled, made her way to the kitchen, and poured the rest of the coffee into the sink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone. :)
> 
> I just wanted to quickly mention something really, really cool I just found!  
> I was on tumblr and decided to type in "Yellow Textbooks" out of curiosity, and I found a drawing someone made for this fanfiction!
> 
> It's a scene from last chapter and it is absolutely incredibly drawn! The art style is amazing, and I even have the drawing pulled up in another tab right now. I've just been staring at it the entire time I've been writing this chapter. It's really, really amazing.
> 
> So if you read this, thank you so, so much eightbitgems on tumblr for drawing something for this story! You completely and utterly made my entire week! Your artwork is beautiful and I cannot tell you how much I appreciate it. Thank you so much. :)
> 
> I also saw a few comments people have written about this story, so I wanted to say thank you so, so much everyone who's read or likes this story. I can't tell you how happy I am. :) Thank you!


	16. Fix It

Peridot woke up to a soft nudge on her shoulder. Through her sleep heavy state of mind, she could make out a voice murmuring something about the time. She pressed her palms against her eyes and began to rub them before sitting up, slowing gaining recognition of her surroundings again.

  
Jaune was knelt down besides her at the edge of the couch, one of her hands rested on Peridot's shoulder, while the other hung loosely at her side, holding onto Peridot's cell phone. Jaune's face was blurred in Peridot's glasses-deprived eyes, but she could tell that the distance between their faces was short. Images of last night's events flashed in her mind. 

The smell of alcohol.

The drunken conversation. 

The closeness. 

Rose. 

The _kiss._

**_Oh God._ **

"Your friends say they want you back before one." Jaune stated, holding out Peridot's cell phone to her.

"Oh, right." Peridot replied, trying her best ignore the blush on her face in hopes that it would go away on it's own. She took the phone from Jaune and quickly checked the time, squinting her eyes in order to read the small numbers.

_12:35 p.m._

Peridot exhaled, standing up off the couch and slipping the phone in her pocket. "Geez. I really slept in."

"You only slept for around three hours. If anything, you woke up rather early." Jaune stated, standing up along with her student. She took Peridot's glasses from the table and handed them back to her. "Make sure to sleep some more once you return to the dorms."

Peridot slipped her glasses on and smiled. "Okay. Thank you, Jaune."

"Of course, anything for my favorite student." Jaune stated, a sliver of a grin playing on her lips. "You did do an awful lot to help me last night. I appreciate that."

Peridot's face heated up again. That comment would've made her feel happy, if it wasn't busy make her feel so guilty instead. For some reason, that sentence created a heavy feeling in Peridot's stomach rather than the butterflies it should have made.

Peridot _did_ help Jaune. She helped Jaune find her sister, Rose. 

Why was that such a big deal? It had been been years since they've last seen each other. Jaune probably just wanted to see if she was alright, talk to her, reconnect, whatever.

So why was all this making Peridot feel so guilty?

 

_"Her whole family's been nothing but manipulative assholes to everyone, and she's no better. Her parents did a lot of shitty things to people and it turns out that their kids aren't too different. The only right one out of all of them was Rose I guess."_

_"Well, I suppose . . . You see, I was very good friends with one of her sisters, Rose Quartz. . . I won't bore you with details but, she was a beautiful, kind, amazing woman who I really . . . looked up to."_

_"However, the family she was from wasn't particularly the same. They had some rather . . . unethical priorities. Rose eventually came to a point where she didn't want to be apart of that kind of household any longer. She decided she wanted to leave. And she did. She left with . . . Greg."_

 

Oh.

. . . . 

**_Oh._ **

**_Goddamnit._ **

Last night went really, _really_ well.

But last night didn't go as planned, did it?

Memories flooded back into Peridot's head within seconds. She came here to talk to Jaune. She came here to ask Jaune about all of these different things. About Rose, about their relationship, about everything.

She came here to potentially _end_ her 'relationship' with Jaune.

But they ended up kissing. 

And Peridot ending up doing everything that Jaune wanted her to do.

 

_Goddamnit. Goddamnit. God **damn-**_

 

"Are you alright?" Jaune asked, breaking Peridot free of her thoughts.

"Wha- oh. Um. Yeah. I'm fine." Peridot said, turning her gaze down to the floor. "Say, um. What are you gonna talk to your sister about? Do you just wanna, like, catch up with her or something?"

"Yes, something like that." Jaune stated, a heavy tone in her voice. "It's nothing you need to worry about. I just have some things I'd like to discuss with her, that's all."

Peridot nodded. "Oh, I see."

 

. . . 

**_Shit._ **

_Well, what now?_

 

"Well, you better head back now. I'll be in contact with you sometime soon, okay?" Jaune said.

Peridot nodded again, mindlessly following as Jaune led her to the door. 

 

_Say something to her._

**_Say something!!!_ **

 

"Um, I'll see you in class?"

 

**_What the fuck, Peridot?_ **

 

Jaune nodded, offering her one last smile before bidding her goodbye, shutting the door after Peridot stepped outside.

Peridot stood on the porch, numbly staring back at the front door to her professor's home. 

 

. . . _ **Fuck**_

* * *

 

 _"Eeeeyy Dotty!"_ Amethyst called, walking up to the counter with Pearl trailing behind her.

Peridot lazily waved, offering a short 'Hi' in response.

"Yo, is that all I get? It's been like, _three weeks_ since I last saw you."

Peridot shrugged, her eyes downcast to the countertop, watching as her fingers rhythmically tapped against it's surface. 

Pearl frowned, flashing Amethyst a quick look of concern.

Amethyst let out a awkward laugh, rubbing at the back of her head. " _Aha ha._ So, um. Pearl told me you know Jaune? Like, the _Diamond_ Jaune?"

"Yes, um, how are things between you and her now? I recall you saying that you um . . . well . . . " Pearl stared down at Peridot sheepishly, a little embarrassed that she couldn't finish her own sentence.

Peridot waved it off, finally speaking up so that Pearl didn't have to continue. "Everythings fine. Don't worry about it. Just forget I ever told you about it, alright?"

Pearl nodded, interlacing her fingers in front of her, a look of discomfort on her face. "Ah, well, if you say so." she responded, glancing between the two shorter girls. "I'm going to go get some water from the break room, would either of you like some?"

Peridot shrugged again.

Amethyst smiled up at her. "Yeah, that sounds pretty good, thanks."

Pearl graciously smiled back before walking off.

Amethyst studied Peridot's face, furrowing her eyebrows a little.

"Alright, what's the problem?"

"I don't have a problem."

"That's a load of garbage. What's up with you and Jaune?"

Peridot ran a hand down her face, mumbling something into her palm.

"Uhh, what was that?" Amethyst asked, cupping a hand over her ear.

" _I said,_ I think I messed up. Really badly."

Amethyst let out a laugh. "Aw c'mon, I mess junk up all the time. It can't be that bad."

Peridot frowned, averting her eyes from Amethyst. There was a heavy look of guilt plastered onto her face. "You uh . . . know about Rose moving away? From her family and everything?"

Amethyst raised an eyebrow. "Uhh, yeah. How do _you_ know-"

"I told Jaune where Rose is."

Amethyst's smile slowly fell, a look of shock passing onto her face.

"Uhhh . . . _what?"_

"I um . . . _I might of_ . . . tracked down and told Jaune where Rose is living?" Peridot said awkwardly, drawing out her words to show that she didn't really want to be saying them at all.

"Dude! What the hell were you thinking!? Jaune is like, bad news. Rose wanted to get as far away from her and the others as possible, why would you-"

"I don't _know_ why I did it! I just, it was an in the moment decision! Jaune was- she just- "

"What? Was she pressuring you or something?" Amethyst asked.

Peridot flashed her an awkward smile. "In a . . . in a way, yes."

"I'm back!" Pearl announced, setting the paper cups on the countertop. "So, what are you two discussing?"

"We were- um- "

"We were talkin' about some new nerd game Dots got herself into." Amethyst chimed in. "Hey P, can you get me another cup of water? I'm _super_ thirsty."

Pearl raised an eyebrow. "But- you haven't even drank- "

Amethyst tipped over her cup, and the three watched in silence as water trickled down the counter edge and made a small wet spot on the floor.

". . . Oops." Amethyst said, flashing Pearl a sheepish grin.

Pearl glared at Amethyst and scoffed, swiftly making her way back to the break room, mumbling something about getting paper towels.

Peridot threw Amethyst a confused expression. "Why didn't you just drink it?"

Amethyst shrugged. "I panicked. Anyways, I needed to get her out of here so I could tell you something." Amethyst said, throwing an arm around Peridot's shoulder and leaning in towards her face. Peridot grimaced, trying to maintain as much personal space as possible.

_"Don't let Pearl or Garnet know you did that."_

Peridot raised an eyebrow. "What? Why not?"

"Cuz' they're gonna knock the snot outta' ya if they find out! Look, you screwed up, it happens, but you **_gotta_ ** fix this."

"Why do you care so much? You never care about anything."

Amethyst rolled her eyes, an irritated expression on her face. "I care about stuff. I care about _Rose_. Listen, Rose is a good person. She doesn't deserve to deal with this type of stuff. She just deserves to be _happy."_ Amethyst stated, her expression suddenly becoming cold. "And i'm not gonna let you slip and mess this 'new life' junk up for her."

Peridot frowned, letting out a defeated sigh and placing her chin in her palm. "Alright, but how do you suppose I go about this?"

Amethyst shrugged. "I dunno. Get Jaune not to go. Tell Rose her sister is coming. Both. Neither. It's up to you." Amethyst suggested. 

Peridot opened her mouth to speak, but Pearl rounded the counter before she could, a roll of paper towels under her arm and another paper cup in her hand.

"Alright, here's a new one." Pearl huffed, handing the cup over to Amethyst. "And don't you dare think of spilling it again, or you're drinking it outside."

Amethyst smiled, swiftly downing the water before biting on the rim of the cup. "Thanks again, P."

Pearl scrunched her nose in disgust. "Do you _have_ to chew on it like that?"

Amethyst ripped of a piece of the cup, chewing it into a ball and sticking out her tongue.

Pearl covered her eyes and turned her back to the shorter girl, letting out a groan of annoyance. " _Honestly!_ That's so repulsive!"

Amethyst shrugged and stuck her tongue back in her mouth, swallowing the wad of paper.

Peridot grimaced from behind the counter.

"C'mon, it's just paper, it's not that bad."

Pearl rolled her eyes, turning back around and taking the remainder of the cup out of Amethyst's hand. "I don't know how you can stand to eat such garbage."

"You are what you eat, y'know?"

Pearl frowned. "Oh stop that. You are not garbage in any sense of the word. Honestly, I don't know why you think those types of comments are amusing. They're concerning at best." Pearl lectured, ripping off a couple of paper towels from the roll, quickly making work of wiping off the countertop and floor before walking off to the nearest garbage can.

Amethyst waited for Pearl to be out of earshot before turning back to Peridot, a serious look on her face.

"But seriously. You need to fix this." she stated, walking off to follow Pearl around the store again. 

Peridot frowned, dropping her head down onto the countertop with a _'thud'._

How in the hell was she supposed to do that?


	17. Angery

Lapis sat at the end of her bed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she stared down at the floor.

Peridot was lying on her back, staring up at the ceiling with a defeated and hopeless expression.

"I'm a mess." she said.

"I noticed." Lapis stated plainly.

* * *

 Peridot didn't have time to explain everything to Lapis and Jasper after she got back from Jaune's house. She had work to go to. Work that consisted of Amethyst making her feel like utter _garbage_ the whole time.

Jasper had left for an afternoon class around the same time Peridot had gotten back from work, leaving just her and Lapis to talk.

And _oh boy,_ did they talk.

Peridot hadn't planned on telling the entire truth to her friends. She didn't need them any more upset with her than they already were, but Lapis was difficult to lie to, and Peridot was a terrible liar.

The truth was eventually discussed, and Peridot was talked into explaining the entire scenario to Lapis.

The car drives.

The flirting.

The dinner.

The _'talk'_ that took place last night.

The big mistake Peridot had just made.

Needless to say, Lapis was pissed.

* * *

"She did _what?"_

"She, uh . . . " Peridot grinned nervously, pointing a finger up at her lips. ". . . _You know_ . . . "

" . . . "

"La-"

"I'm going to kill her."

"Lapis it was just a kiss! She didn't do anything-"

Lapis frowned, her face wrinkling up in hatred. "She's a fucking _pedofile."_

"What? _I'm not a little kid, Lapis!_ I'm not-"

"You're not a _grown up_ either, Peridot!" Lapis spat back.

Peridot winced, shrinking down a little into the Lapis's bedsheets. ". . . That's not the problem though, Lapis. Jaune isn't the main problem right now. It's Rose."

"Jaune kissing you is more important than some random woman you've never even met before."

"Lapis-"

"It's disgusting."

"Lap-"

"It's not _fair."_

_"Lapis!"_

**_"What!?"_ **

"Calm _down!_ I'm asking you to help me, not shout at me!"

There was a quick flash of anger on Lapis's face, and then her expression went blank.

Lapis pulled her legs up onto the bed, getting onto her knees. She shifted over until she was ontop of Peridot, one knee and one hand on each side of the smaller girl. She held herself up with her arms, providing a little distance between their bodies.

Peridot began to sweat, color rising in her cheeks.

And the two stared at each other in silence. Unmoving.

 

 _". . . I like you."_ Lapis stated quietly.

 _". . . I know."_ Peridot quietly breathed the response, her hands clenching and unclenching the bedsheets nervously.

Lapis exhaled, moving off of her friend and taking her seat at the edge of the bed once more.

". . . Sorry."

"It's fine. I'm used to it."

. . .

 

"What should I do?" Peridot asked, breaking up the silence between the two.

"Exactly what we've been telling you to do. Forget about her. She got what she wanted. Chances are she's going to cut connection with you now."

Peridot frowned. She didn't want to forget about Jaune, not yet.

But she'd think about it later.

"But what do I do about Rose?"

"Who cares? If Jaune starts leaving you alone, then why get yourself wrapped up in some other mess?"

 

_"I care about stuff. I care about Rose too. Rose is a good person. She doesn't deserve to deal with this type of stuff. She just deserves to be happy. And i'm not gonna let you slip and mess this 'new life' junk up for her."_

_"But seriously. You need to fix this."_

 

"Just forget about it."

Peridot sighed, rolling over onto her stomach, her arm accidentally brushing up against Lapis's leg.

Lapis's face flushed.

Peridot quickly moved her arm.

"No, I _can't_ just forget about it. Amethyst told me I needed to fix it, that Rose needs to be happy."

". . . So, what are you gonna do?"

Peridot rubbed her eyes under her glasses. "I don't know. I don't think I can face Jaune about it again, so I'll probably try emailing Rose directly or something."

Lapis nodded, resting a hand on Peridot's head, gently stroking through her hair.

"I'm here if you need any help."

Peridot sighed. She would've nudged Lapis's hand away if it didn't feel so nice.

She needed the comfort, anyways.

"I know. Thanks." Peridot responded, resting her head down onto her arms, allowing Lapis to mess around with her hair as she pleased.

 _"Mhm."_ Lapis replied softly, running her fingers down Peridot's scalp and onto her neck, patting her back twice before pulling her hand back onto her lap.

 _God,_ she wanted to do so much more than that.

But, this was as good as she was going to get, unfortunately.

 _How in the hell did Jaune do it?_ Lapis thought, falling back onto the bed besides Peridot.

The two layed there for a while, neither saying a word to each other. They didn't need to. Simply laying next to each other was all that really needed to be done for the two to comfort one another.


	18. Messed Up Relationships

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's still alive :)
> 
> Geez, nearly five months in between updates. That really, really sucks. I'm so sorry to anyone who was interested in this story and has been waiting so long for an update. 
> 
> But on the bright side, I have good news! I'll be having a MASSIVE chapter update tonight! I'll be trying to upload all the way up to chapter 24! So for anyone who's still interested in this story, I really hope that you enjoy them. :)
> 
> Besides that, I wanted to really quickly say that since I've started this story, a TON of Steven episodes have come out (Which is great!! Steven Universe is my favorite show in the whole world!) But with each new episode, I feel as if I'm writing the characters more and more out of character. So I just wanted to quickly apologize if at any time you think that characters don't seem to be written very well. I'm trying my best! And I hope it's alright for you. :)
> 
> With all that out of the way, I hope you enjoy!

Planning out what to do next turned out to be a little more difficult than Peridot wanted to admit.

  
Well, in all reality, it was a rather simple task, but getting herself to actually do it was becoming increasingly difficult. She was dreadful about going behind Jaune's back right after helping her, but she knew she owed it to Amethyst and Rose to at least send out a warning email.

But what did she need to say? Would she have to tell Rose all about her relationship with Jaune? Would Rose be mad about Peridot tracking her? Would Rose have to move again? Would Jaune find out about this?

  
Peridot buried her face in her hands. Being love struck could get you into some really messed up situations. It just makes you do too many stupid things. No wonder Jasper and Lapis's crushes made them act so weird at times.

  
Peridot really just wanted to lay down and pretend that none of this ever happened.

  
Well, she didn't want to forget _all_ of it. She just wished she could've done things a little differently. Think through things a little more clearly.

But she couldn't, and she needed to work on fixing this. Starting with helping Rose.

  
Peridot quickly discovered that Rose herself didn't seem to have an internet presence, but with a little searching she manged to come across a few of Greg's social media accounts. They seemed a little outdated, being on rather old websites that had dropped significantly in popularity over the past few years. Unfortunately, they looked to be rarely used as well. Not exactly inactive, but not as promising as Peridot hoped they would be. This meant she that couldn't be sure she'd get a response back soon, if at all, but it was the only option she had at the moment, besides digging a little deeper to find any reliable phone numbers, which she didn't feel like getting into.

Peridot pulled up a message box and got herself set to type, but the blinking courser on the screen was starting to make her feel anxious, and she quickly found herself busy with internet searches and sites.

_Life and Death and Love and Birth Song_   
_Camp Pining Hearts AMV_   
_CPH Fanart_   
_CPH Percy x Pierre_   
_Cute alien shirt_   
_Cheap cute alien shirt_   
_How to stop procrastinating_   
_Contacts vs glasses_   
_Contacts before and after pics_   
_How many contacts do I need a month?_

 

"I thought you hated contacts."

  
Peridot, much to Lapis's amusement, screamed, abruptly turning around in her chair to face Lapis, who was lazily resting her arms on the top of it.

  
"Holy- _geez,_ Lapis! What the hell?!"

"Since when did you get all curious about contacts? You told me they were _'inconvenient'_ and _'high maintenance'_ and _'hurt your eyes to put in'."_

  
"Well, uh. I'm reconsidering. Maybe. I don't know. I haven't really decided yet." Peridot explained, a flustered look on her face.

  
Lapis frowned, lifting a hand and gingerly pressing her fingers up against Peridot's lenses, pushing them up and down on her face, studying how she looked each time she did.

  
". . . I think your glasses are cute. They suit you. They add to your character."

  
Peridot let out a huff of frustration, pulling the glasses off her face and rubbing them with her sleeve, cleaning off Lapis's smudged finger prints.

  
"Well, I haven't decided yet." Peridot grumbled again.

  
Lapis stared down at Peridot, waiting for her to finish up her task before continuing. "So, you type up that email yet?"

  
"No, i'm just- just trying to figure out how I want to say this." Peridot stated, nervously intertwining her hands together before turning back around to face the computer screen.

  
"I don't want it to sound like i'm accusing Jaune of anything, because I don't know what she's _doing._ This whole idea of talking to Rose behind her back is just . . . I don't _want_ to do it. I mean, I know I need to, but I don't want Jaune to find out about it. And _\- don't be mad -_ but I still don't want her to hate me! So i'm just- what are you doing?" Peridot asked, confusion on her face as Lapis reached her arms out on either side of the chair, trapping Peridot awkwardly in between them, as she began to type something on the keyboard in front of them.

 

_Hey, your wife's sister is stopping by sometime. Be careful. Heard she's kinda an asshole._

 

Peridot immediately batted Lapis's hands away from the computer, screeching at her about how awful that would be to send. Lapis just laughed behind her, stating that it was as simple and true as she could put it.

  
Peridot sighed, running a hand over her mouth before dropping it onto her lap.

  
"Do you really want to help me?" Peridot asked, irritation in her voice.

  
Lapis huffed, resting her arms on top of the chair again.

  
"Yeah. The sooner this is all over with, the better."

"Then can you do me a favor?" Peridot asked wearily.

  
Lapis frowned, tilting her head to the side to take a look at Peridot's face. She looked tired, stressed, nervous, cute. _Really,_ really cute.

  
Lapis nodded, leaning forward and wrapping her arms around Peridot's shoulders, resting her head beside Peridot's.

  
_"Mhm."_

  
Peridot frowned at the attention, but decided to just leave it alone. She gave up fighting the little actions months after Lapis unconsciously kept repeating them. She found that if she just let Lapis do what she wanted, the little moments wouldn't last for very long. The constant touching was bothersome at times, but it was better than constant arguing, and Lapis usually kept within her boundaries.

  
"Can you fill in Jasper on everything I told you? I need to focus on getting this worded right, and I don't really think I can handle any more of her right now." Peridot huffed. "Things have been really on and off with her lately. One minute she seems like she's trying to help, but then she just gives up and starts getting mad at me all over again."

Lapis nodded, burrowing her face into the crook of Peridot's neck. "Sure. I can do that." she murmured.

  
Peridot's face flushed and she turned to stare at the wall, awkwardly waiting for Lapis to be done. She was used to this, just like the situation that happened earlier on the bed, but it still amazed Peridot how easily the two of them could just brush it off and go back to talking, as if nothing had took place. It was something she thought about often. Not particularly those instances, but her relationship with Lapis in general. She couldn't exactly picture herself dating her, or falling in love with her, but she cared about her a great deal, and she saw her as a best friend. But just like Jasper, things were kind of complicated. Peridot and Jasper were close, and both accepted that the bickering and teasing was an unavoidable part of their relationship. Peridot and Lapis were close too, and both of them accepted that the feelings they had for each other weren't exactly the same. And now Peridot and Jaune were close too, but . . .

  
 ** _Jesus._** Peridot was starting to wonder if any of her relationships could be considered _'healthy'_ or _'normal'._

  
Peridot sighed, turning her head to rest it on top of one of Lapis's arms. "Trust me, I want to get this over and done with just as much as you do."

* * *

 

The next hour or so passed by casually. Peridot worked on her message to Greg, and Lapis eventually headed back to her own dorm. She made a quick promise to keep an eye out for Japser, and get her all filled in before she let Jasper get back to their room.

  
Peridot appreciated the help. It would make things a lot easier this way, since it seemed that Lapis and Jasper had better luck getting through conversations without getting fed up with each other. Jasper seemed to have a little more patience for Lapis than she did for Peridot. Peridot would've been jealous of that if it weren't for two factors. One, Jasper's stupid crush on Lapis. Of course she'd occasionally restrain herself from her outbursts. Two, Peridot had already accepted the fact that she was just as responsible for the arguing as Jasper . . . Well, maybe not _as much_ , but she had her part in it too, she had to admit.

  
Peridot rubbed her eyes before lazily scanning over her email once more. It had taken her a while before she figured out exactly what she wanted to say, and how she wanted to say it. By the end, she wasn't exactly proud of what she came up with, but she had managed to think up something she deemed acceptable.

 

  
_Dear Mr.Universe_

  
_My name is Peridot, and, although this seems odd, i'd like to know if it would be reasonable to ask to speak to Mrs.Universe? I know this is a very sudden and strange request, but I have information that I really feel is important to share with her. If she would be comfortable speaking through your account, or through a video chat, or even by phone, please let me know. I ask that you respond ASAP. This is very important._

  
_\-- Peridot_

  
Peridot stared at the message, re-read it a few times, and finally managed to send it. It was short, sweet, and to the point, but she still worried that it would come off as too serious, or too straightforward, or too odd. She wasn't necessarily good when it came to talking with strangers, and this was the best she would be able to come up with.   
After around twenty minutes of staring at the screen and hitting refresh, she got the idea that Greg wouldn't be responding any time soon. She closed out of the website and layed down on her bed, shutting her eyes and taking a deep breath.

  
This was good. She was getting somewhere. Getting something done to fix all of this and turn it around. Telling Rose the predicament was first priority. Get her informed and safe. Assuring Amethyst that she fixed the problem was second. Evaluating her position with Jaune was third.

That was the only one she lacked confidence in, because she didn't even know where to begin with fixing that. Maybe it was just as simple as just forgetting about Jaune. But . . . she didn't know where to begin with _that_ either. It was going to be easier said than done, that's for sure.

Peridot pulled off her glasses, setting them down on the nightstand. Maybe she could get some sleep. She'd rather be asleep than awake when Jasper got back, and hopefully she'd have a response from Greg or Rose waiting for her when she woke up.

Peridot shut her eyes and rolled onto her side, letting out a heavy breath before she finally relaxed, shoulders sagging and arms hanging loosely off the bed.

And then the door slammed open, jolting Peridot up into sitting position.

_"Wha-"_

**_"Are you kidding me?!"_ ** Jasper shouted, throwing her backpack onto the floor.

"Just when I thought things couldn't get any messier, and more _fucked up,_ you go and do some dumb shit like this!"

Peridot simply stared at her, then layed back down and shut her eyes again. "Yeah, I guess I do."

"All you had to do is stop fucking around with her and things wouldn't been _fine!_ But you're so fucking _obsessed_ with her that you cant even talk to her without getting screwed over!"

Peridot furrowed her eyebrows, frowning down at the bed sheets as she yanked a pillow closer to her, curling herself up next to it.

"And you know what she told us on _your_ phone!? She said that she was going to cut communication with you! That you'd go back to being regular old student Peridot! Did you know that? We've been fucking telling you for days! She doesn't. care. about. you."

Peridot winced, stuffing her face into the pillow, digging her nails into it's covering.

"I don't know why we even bothered trying to help you! You're so fucking desperate for her attention that you-"

Peridot sobbed.

Jasper froze, standing in the silence for a moment before Peridot sobbed again, burying her face deeper into the pillow.

Jasper waited, gritting her teeth and staring around the room awkwardly. It had been a long time since Peridot had cried in front of her. She had cried over stupid stuff before, like her TV shows or robots or things that made her happy, but Jasper hadn't dealt with Peridot seriously crying in a while. She didn't really know how to go about it.

A part of her just wanted to keep yelling. Obviously she was getting somewhere in her argument if Peridot had been reduced to this. She must've gotten through, or said something, or did something . . . But there was another part of her that was screaming at her to just shut up, telling her she that was going about this wrong, telling her that this wasn't the right way to get the message across.

That part of her sounded oddly like Garnet.

Jasper huffed, stepping over to Peridot's bedside and sitting down next to her friend, staring at her and waiting for her to say or do something.

But she didn't.

She just kept crying.

Jasper internally debated on what to say, and when nothing good formed in her head, she settled on placing a hand on Peridot's shoulder, and after a moment of hesitation, began rubbing her arm and back, trying to be of comfort in some way.

Fortunately, this seemed to help Peridot calm down a little, as her sobs turned into slower, ragged breaths.

This was working.

Jasper wasn't exactly sure where to go with this from here. A part of her was saying to continue talking about the situation, telling Peridot about all her fuck-ups and explaining her side of things. Another part of her told her to hug Peridot, although at Peridot's weird laying down / hugging a pillow position, Jasper found that would be too strange and uncomfortable.

Not being content with either of those options, Jasper sighed, continuing to trace her hand over Peridot's shoulders.

 _". . . I'm sorry."_ Jasper stated, soft enough to where it was a little difficult to hear. Luckily, Peridot had calmed down enough to be able to take it in. Taking a deep breath before being able to choke out a response.

  
_". . . Me too."_

 

 


	19. Rose

  
_Hey Peridot_

_This seems a little odd, but if you need to talk to Rose, she said she'd be happy to. She said she'd rather talk face to face with you. My son's got a computer she can use to do that. Is that alright with you?_

_P.S. - I'm guessing you wanna keep things between you and her, but is everything okay? Is Rose in any trouble or anything? Let me know if I can help._

_\-- Greg Universe_

* * *

_ That would be fine. Just let me know when it's convenient for me to contact her. I have classes and work to attend, so i'm usually busy during the morning and afternoon, but on most days i'm available any time between 6pm - 10pm. _

_Thank you for your offer. Not be sound overly concerning, but what I need to tell Rose isn't that dangerous or threatening, to my knowledge. It's just something that she should really know._

_Thank you again._

  
_\-- Peridot_

* * *

_Alright, that's good to hear._

_How about tonight at 6? Does that work for you?_

  
_\-- Greg Universe_

* * *

_That works for me. See you then._

  
_\-- Peridot_

* * *

It had taken a few days before Greg finally responded to Peridot's message, but Peridot was relieved to finally have a time and day set up. It was one step closer to getting everything taken care of.

Peridot took a seat in front of her computer, waiting anxiously for the clock to strike six. She felt a little relieved that she'd be able to have this conversation alone. Lapis and Jasper had gone out for the night, and Garnet had agreed to go with them. Peridot was glad that she wasn't burdened to be a designated driver again.

  
Peridot stared at the computer and watched as a little screen popped up, asking Peridot if she wanted to accept a video chat. Peridot pressed the accept button, and the screen went wide and dark. After a moment, Rose's face appeared. She blinked at the screen before a wide smile set on her face.

"Hello, Peridot!" she said in a cheery tone, waving at the camera.

"Oh, uh. Hello Rose." Peridot greeted, smiling awkwardly at the screen.

Peridot inspected Rose's face for a moment. It was definitely her. She looked almost exactly the same as she did in the photograph at Jaune's house, give or take a few factors. She looked older by a few years, having a few small wrinkles on her face. Peridot figured this made sense, seeing as Jaune's photo had probably been taken many years ago. Rose's hair appeared a little longer, frizzy and little messy as well, like how hair would look on a humid day, or after swimming. It wasn't dyed and pink anymore either, but had instead returned to it's natural sandy brown hue. Rose's face looked a little tanned and sunburnt, but she didn't seem to mind. She smiled at Peridot through screen, her big cheeks indented with dimples. 

"It's so nice to meet you. Greg said you had something to tell me?" Rose questioned.

 

"Ah, uh, yeah. You see, I might of . . . I mean, I know I don't know you very well, but I know your friends, um. Amethyst and Garnet and Pearl."

_This was a good start. Start off with something small, then go into the real reason you're calling._

" _Oh!!_ How are they? Are they doing alright? Are they still in school?"

"Well uh, yeah. They are. I go to the same school as them. They're fine, and uh . . . I work with Pearl too. I have a friend who's roommates with Garnet. Me and Amethyst talk sometimes."

"That's so great to hear!" Rose said, her face lighting up.

"They- they seem to really care about you. I bet they miss you a lot." Peridot said, her voice becoming a little softer.

"Oh, I miss them more than anything in the world. They're three great kids, they're all going to do such extraordinary things."

"How come you didn't tell them where you were going? Why didn't they come with you?"

"Oh geez. All of them were just kids. Teenagers. They had _lives_ and _parents_ and _friends_ and _futures_. I couldn't just whisk them away with me! Even if I wanted to, which, I _really, really_ did." Rose smiled, letting out a small laugh before continuing. "They would've followed me to the ends of the Earth if they could've. So by not telling them where I was going, they couldn't." Rose said, a sad smile on her face. "No. They needed to stay. They needed to continue their lives at home and get their educations. They needed to create themselves and find out where they wanted to go in life. They couldn't have just followed me around forever."

"And it wasn't an option for you to stay?"

"Oh, no. I couldn't have. It was just my time to leave that place. I needed to make a new life somewhere else. I couldn't stay with my family. I just couldn't."

"Why not?" Peridot asked.

She already knew the answer to this. Garnet had told them all why Rose left. How bad Rose's family was. But Peridot wanted to keep up the conversation. It was all honestly very interesting to her. She was learning a little more about all this, from Rose's mouth, not Jaune's.

Rose frowned, casting her eyes down a little before sighing. She shook her head before looking back up at the screen, giving Peridot a gentle smile. "We've been talking quite a lot about me. How about we talk about you?" She suggested.

Peridot frowned. "What do you want to know about me?"

" _Anything_. Anything at all. I _love_ learning about people."

Peridot nodded, racking her brain for something to say. "Hm . . . uh, I'm really good with computers. I like technology. I like games. I've lived with my dad my whole life. I uh . . . I know your sister, Jaune."

". . . _Oh,_ I see. How um, how is she?"

"Well uh, I guess you can ask her yourself, since she's um. She's coming to see you."

. . . . .

"She knows where I moved to?"

"I um . . . I might have . . . told her, myself. I-I'm. I'm really sorry, I-"

"Oh no, there's no you don't need to apologize, sweetheart."

"What? But- but I-"

"It doesn't matter. You seem like a very nice person, Peridot. You took the responsibly to contact me and tell me this. Thank you. I appreciate it."

Peridot was dumbfounded. After everything, after what Peridot did . . . and Rose was just- just _thanking_ her.

"But- but _Jaune_ -"

"I can handle Jaune when she arrives." Rose stated, taking deep breath before staring off to the side, smiling. "Who knows, maybe it'll be good for us to talk again. Maybe she's changed a little. We'll see."

Peridot cast her eyes down to the corner of the screen ". . . I'm really sorry."

Rose gave her a gentle smile. "And I forgive you."

Peridot smiled back, looking relieved. "Thank you."

"Oh, Peridot?"

"Yes?"

"Do the others know that we're talking?"

"Oh, uh, no, they don't."

"Could you do me a favor?"

"Yeah, sure. What is it?"

"You said you talk to them sometimes, right? Look out for them for me, will you?"

"Oh, well, I don't really talk to them a _lot_ , but, um . . ." Peridot smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I can do that."

"That means the world to me."

"It was nice meeting you."

"It was nice meeting you too. Hopefully we can talk again sometime."

"Ha, yeah. If you ever wanna know about the others, you can contact me anytime, if you want."

"That sounds wonderful. Thank you so much."

"No problem . . . Well, goodbye Rose."

"Goodbye Peridot."

Peridot exited out of the call, pushing her chair away from the computer and staring at the floor, a blank look on her face.

_. . . No wonder Amethyst had been so protective before._

Peridot ran her fingers through her hair, frowning at the computer screen. She couldn't imagine Jaune ever wanting to hurt someone like Rose, but just because her family was bad didn't mean that Jaune had bad intentions for this. Maybe she just wanted to talk or reconnect.

But something didn't sit right with Peridot about it. All the times Jaune ever spoke at Rose, it never sounded like she was happy. She never sounded like she liked or missed Rose.  
  
_If Peridot had put her in danger somehow . . ._

Peridot shook her head. There was nothing she could do about it. She had warned Rose, and that was the best she could do at the moment. Reassuring Amethyst that the situation was taken care of was the next step. Figuring out how to go about Jaune was last. Sooner or later she was going to have to choose to either forget about her, or try and talk things out with her again. Maybe she could get a word or two in with her next time she had class. 


	20. Will It Be Okay?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very short chapter! Since the next one is MUCH longer. :)

"So, situations taken care of?" Amethyst asked, leaning over the counter top and messing with one of the gift cards on display, twirling it between her fingers and sliding it across the counter.

"Yes. Rose has been informed of the situation, and that's pretty much all I can do for now." Peridot admitted, placing a couple new cards out on the display rack.

Amethyst dropped the plastic on the counter, tapping her finger on it instead. Her eyes wandered off somewhere else. ". . . Did she uh, did she say anything about me? Or the others?" she asked, her voice getting a little softer.

Peridot paused for a moment. ". . . She . . . she wanted to know how you guys were doing." Peridot said, continuing on with her work.

"She said that you guys mean the world to her."

Amethyst smiled, her cheeks turning a little darker. She continued to push the card around with her fingertips.

". . . _Heh_. Nice. . . "

 

* * *

Jaune wasn't in class.

There was a substitute.

Before the class had started, Peridot made her way to the front of the room, inquiring the substitute about where Miss Diamond was at. He told Peridot that her professor had taken a sick day, but would more than likely be out for a couple days.

Peridot tried to brush it off, telling herself that it was fine.

People get sick. It happens.

People don't show up to school. It happens.

People manipulate their students in order to find their runaway siblings and potentially harm or help them. _I_ _t happens._

But it didn't make Peridot any less restless, or curious. Which is why later that day, Peridot found herself making up excused in order to drive by Jaune's house.

Jaune's car was no where in sight.

 _'Maybe it'sin the garage? '_ she thought. 

But she had a sinking feeling that it wasn't.

Peridot dropped her head onto the steering wheel, accidentally hitting the horn and startling herself back into an upright position. After her heart stopped racing, she covered half her face with her hand, glaring down at the steering wheel with teary eyes.

Of course Jaune would call in sick to get time off work. She was going up to see Rose, because Peridot _told_ her where Rose was.

_That was that._

Peridot yanked off her glasses and wiped her eyes.

Rose was so nice when they talked. She was ready to forgive Peridot in an instant for something that could potentially ruin something so important to her. Jaune was manipulative. Using her feelings in order to control her. How in the fucking world would she live with herself if she just let Jaune walk away without admitting or apologizing for anything? How would she live with herself if she didn't see to it that Rose was alright?

Peridot wanted to protect Rose.

Peridot wanted to end her relationship with Jaune.

Peridot sniffled, reapplying her glasses and driving away from Jaune's neighborhood.

Rose asked her to look after her friends, and they would be crushed if anything happened to Rose. So in a way, she was just trying to keep that promise.

 _I want to do one more dumb thing._ Peridot decided.

_I want to follow Jaune._


	21. Oh My God We're Really Doing This

"You didn't have to come along you know. I told you I can do this myself." Peridot stated, staring at the traffic ahead of her with an irritated look on her face.

"Yeah right. You know how many times you've wandered off without us lately? Did any of those time work out?" Jasper said, rolling down her window to get some cool air. "I swear, your dad should hire us as your babysitters or somethin'. We should get paid for this shit."

" _Hey!_ I'm over 18! I'm a _legal_ adult! I'm not a little kid! You didn't have to come and supervise me!"

Jasper scoffed, rolling her eyes and staring out the window. "Then why don't you fucking act like it."

Peridot scowled, opening her mouth to retort, but was cut off by Lapis, who was sitting in the backseat.

"I fucking swear Jasper, we'll drop you off on the side of the road if you don't quit it. _Now_."

Jasper frowned, letting out an angry huff before leaning closer to the window, letting the wind blow in her face and buffer her hearing.

She didn't want to listen to them anymore.

Peridot sighed, leaning a little further back in her seat, hands gripping and ungripping the steering wheel.

The car slowed and stopped at a red light.

. . .

Peridot sighed, hanging her head low and staring at her knees. ". . . I'm sorry."

Lapis nodded, offering Peridot a little smile. "It's fine, Peridot. You're trying, and we'll fix this. It's why we're here. We care, even if Jasper isn't one to admit it."

Jasper groaned, leaning to the side until her head bumped against the car door. "We've been talking about you and Jaune for fucking days. Let's talk about something else."

Peridot rolled her eyes. "Okay, like what?"

"How about how good Lapis looks in that dress?"

Lapis glared at Jasper through the rear view mirror, to which Jasper grinned in response.

"What? I'm just sayin'. You look good today."

"And you look like something I pulled out of my shower drain."

Jasper raised an eyebrow, putting a hand on top of her head. "You saying I need a haircut?"

Lapis shrugged. "It couldn't hurt. That mop on your head goes all the way down to your lower back."

Jasper scoffed and crossed her arms. "Well maybe while I'm at the barbers, you could head to McDonald's or lift some weights. You're one of the boniest things I've ever seen, right behind that girl who works with Peridork."

"Her name is Pearl, and her body is fine." Peridot stated bitterly.

Jasper raised an eyebrow. "Since when did you get all defensive about her? You were talkin' to me and making fun of her last week."

Peridot furrowed her eyebrows, a look of discomfort on her face. "Well uh, maybe I was . . . wrong. She's nice, and er . . . I made a promise to look out for her, and the others. . . So just, don't bring it up again, okay?"

Jasper stared at Peridot for a moment before shaking her head, turning the other way.

"You're a real piece of work."

"Yes. I am."

. . . .

Peridot glanced out her window, staring at a random front lawn, where a group of little kids ran around a sprinkler, spraying each other with water guns and eating melted popsicles.

Peridot smiled. "Hey, remember that time we brought water balloons to school?"

Jasper blinked, a small smile slipping onto her face. "Yeah. We pelted those kids on the playground. One of 'em fell off the monkey bars. Some kid snatched our stash, and pretty much the entire class ganged up on us."

Jasper smiled at Lapis through the rear view mirror. "I wish we knew ya back then, you would've destroyed those guys."

Lapis grinned, rolling her eyes. "I would've destroyed you too. Who the hell brings water balloons to school?"

"Someone who had a bone to pick, that's who." Jasper stated, nodding to Peridot with a smirk.

Peridot shrugged. "Some clod stole my crayons. The only reasonable reaction was to attack them with water. They get wet socks, and no one gets seriously hurt."

"Except for the monkey bar kid."

"Yeah, that was a mistake."

Lapis snorted, bursting into a fit of laughter. "Y-you guys are fucking weirdos."

"That's why we were friends." Peridot stated, giving Lapis a bright-eyed grin through the mirror. "And you, my fellow weirdo, are our friend too."

Jasper laughed. "Congrats. You get to hang out with us. We're the fucking worst."

"You might be the worst, but i'm perfectly acceptable." Peridot said, a smug grin on her face.

"Oh yeah? How about your height? Or your weird hair? Or your glasses?"

"All of those things are what makes me great." Peridot stated pridefully.

"What about that cringey drama camp show fanfic you wrote?" Lapis offered, grinning as Peridot's smile turned into a look of horror.

"It's called _'Camp Pining Hearts'!_ And I wrote that a _year_ ago! My writing has improved immensely!"

Lapis shrugged, taking on a smug smile herself. "You still wrote it. It's still valid."

Peridot huffed turning the car to the right and pulling into a gas station.

"Whatever. I need to fill up my tank." Peridot said, mumbling as she unbuckled her seat belt and stepped out of the car.

"Wait."

Peridot stuck her head back in the car, watching as Jasper fished around in her pockets, handing Peridot a torn and wrinkled $5 bill.

"Get me somethin'. I don't care what."

Peridot sighed and pocketed the money, turning back to look at Lapis.

"You want anything?"

Lapis shrugged her bag off her shoulder, pulling out her wallet and handing Peridot $3.

"Just some water or something."

Peridot nodded and grabbed the money, slipping out of the car and shutting the door. After a few minutes of fiddling with the gas pump and payment options, she headed inside the gas station, leaving Jasper and Lapis to themselves.

". . . So, what'do you think about all this?" Jasper asked, dropping her head back to rest on the seat.

Lapis shrugged. ". . . I thought we weren't gonna talk about it."

"We're not. I'm just askin' for thoughts."

Lapis rolled her eyes, leaning forward against the drivers chair, resting her arms on it.

"I'm ready for it to be over with."

Jasper nodded, glancing out the window to her side, watching as a few people maneuvered around their cars, going in and out of the station.

"Same here. I don't fuckin' get why she's head over heels for this bitch. Peridot's putty in her hands and it's making me sick."

Lapis nodded, staring straight ahead with a blank face.

" . . . You know we're just big hypocrites, right?"

"The hell do you mean?"

"You know how long Peridot's had to put up with our shit? With our messed up crushes? For God's sake you broke her nose over it, and she practically lets me do what ever the hell I want around her. It's about time she put us through hell over something like this."

Jasper sat in silence for a moment, shutting her eyes and huffing.

". . . I really, _really_ hate to admit it, but you've got a point. We shouldn't be complaining this much."

Jasper lazily opened her eyes, watching through the glass windows as people moved around inside the station. She spotted Peridot, standing on her tip toes to get a bottle of water from one of the refrigerated shelves. Jasper snickered, tapping Lapis's head and pointing to Peridot.

"Look at shorty, she's gonna knock everything over like that."

Lapis bit back a laugh, smiling as Peridot stopped, staring dumbfounded at the bottle of water that was one shelf too high for her to reach. She grabbed a bottle of soda from a lower shelf and attempted to bat and poke at the water, trying to make it fall.

Jasper and Lapis laughed a little harder as two strangers inside stopped to stare at their friend. After a moment, it looked like one of them offered Peridot assistance, but she yelled at them, causing them to back off, and she continued swinging at the bottle.

After another few painfully hilarious seconds, Peridot managed to knock the bottle down, a huge grin on her face as she picked it up off the floor, grinning at the strangers and walking off victoriously.

Jasper and Lapis busted out laughing, taking a moment to compose themselves before talking again.

"Yo- you know. . . " Jasper said through her dying laughter "We- we've got, like, a minute left till she comes back. We could make out."

Lapis elbowed Jasper's shoulder. "In your fucking dreams."

"Heh, you know it." Jasper grinned, watching as Lapis's face went red, hitting Jasper again.

"Ow! What!? I'm just tellin' the truth. If I can't be with you then I can at least joke about it. At least give me that. You get to hang all over Peridot all the time. That's not fair."

Lapis ran a hand through her hair, letting out a huff. "Alright, I get that. You can keep joking. Whatever."

The driver's seat door opened up, and Peridot stuck her head back inside, passing out the items stuffed in her arms.

"Alright, here's an orange soda and some pretzels." She said, handing over the items to Jasper.

"And a water and some licorice." she said, handing over the items to Lapis.

Peridot dropped her snacks, a coca cola and some gummy bears, in the driver's seat, leaving for a moment to take out the gas pump and shut the fuel tank.

Jasper leaned back in her seat, staring at Lapis with a smirk. "Last chance before she comes back." she teased.

Lapis glanced out the window to Peridot, then back at Jasper. With one quick movement, Lapis pressed her lips up against the corner of Jasper's mouth, before she quickly got back in her seat, watching with a blank expression as Peridot got back in the car, shutting the door and grabbing her own snacks.

Peridot pulled a one dollar bill and some change out of her pocket, holding it out for Jasper while she buckled her seat belt.

"Here's your change back." she said, waiting for Jasper to take the money. After a few seconds, Peridot looked up to see Jasper staring at Lapis, wide-eyed and shocked.

Peridot raised an eyebrow, looking back and forth from Lapis to Jasper. ". . . Did I miss something?"

Lapis shook her head. "Nothing important."

Peridot stared at the two of them skeptically, but eventually dropped the money on Jasper's thigh, starting up the car and pulling out of the gas station.

Once Peridot turned her back, Lapis gave Jasper a wicked smirk, mouthing out a _'how's that for fair?'_ to her.

Jasper, after another moment of blank shock, finally let a small grin slip onto her face, turning back around in her seat and picking up her change.

The three of them were quiet the rest of the trip.

* * *

"Is this it?" Jasper asked, staring out the window. There were a few trees in the way, but the ocean was becoming more and more visible from where they were. A few little houses were beginning to dot up in the distance, the the town water tower was coming up.

"Yeah, I think so." Peridot said, driving up a little further until they were driving through the neighborhood. Lapis was first to point out the ferris wheel, discovering that the little town had it's own amusement park. Discussion of visiting it ensued, but was shot down, considering the lack of money the three of them had all together, which needed to be saved for food and gas. Off to the left, the three of them located the town's board walk, along with a parking lot behind one of the stores. Peridot parked the car, and the three of them stepped out, looking around the bright little town.

"So, what's you're plan?" Lapis asked, looking back at Peridot.

"Well i'm starving, i'mma get myself something to eat." Jasper said, looking around at the buildings surrounding them. "Think theres a donut place up ahead. Either that or we could grab some pizza."

Peridot waved her off. "You guys can go get food. I'm gonna start looking around for Jaune."

"That's a stupid idea." Jasper said.

"You wanna hang out and walk around with me for an hour?" Peridot asked sarcastically.

"Good point. Do what you want. Just come get us if you find her."

"Okay. I'll meet with you guys at the car when you're done."

Lapis nodded, walking alongside Jasper. "Alright, just call us if you need us."

"Yeah, we'll bring you somethin' back." Jasper called out.

Peridot watched as the two of them walked away, making her way in the opposite direction.

* * *

There were a lot of annoying things that Peridot could list off right now. The sunburn forming on her face, the sand stuck in her socks, the aimless walk around an unfamiliar town, and nearly getting run over by a bunch of kids.

"I'm so sorry!" The kid said, picking himself up off the ground and holding a hand out to Peridot. "Here, let me help you."

Peridot rubbed at her now skinned palms, trying to brush the sand and gravel off them. She had been turning the corner when two kids had run out from behind it, a boy with black curly hair, and a girl with long hair and glasses. They apologized profusely and helped Peridot to her feet, asking if she was alright.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." Peridot stated, mildly irritated. It took her a few moments before she recognized the boy.

Steven. His name is Steven.

There were a couple of pictures of the kid online, when she was in the middle of finding Rose, and on Greg's online profiles. He had his own little accounts, but Peridot had ignored them. She didn't need to know about him.

"We're really sorry. We weren't looking where we were going. Are your hands okay?" The girl asked.

Peridot glanced down at her palms. A little scratched up, but not bleeding. She was fine.

"I have band aids with me if you nee-"

"No, it's fine. Thank you."

There was a moment of silence between them before Steven spoke up.

"My name's Steven! And this is Connie!" He said, gesturing to his friend, who shyly smiled back.

"Who are you?"

"Oh. Peridot. Nice to meet you."

"Are you a tourist? I haven't seen you around before."

"Uh, sorta. I'm just here looking for someone."

"Maybe we can help?" Connie offered. "It's the least we can do for knocking you over like that."

"Thanks, but it's fine. I really don't need any-"

"Nonsense! You're our friend now! We wanna help you!"

Peridot's expression became confused and uncomfortable. Connie let out a nervous laugh.

"L-let's not make her uncomfortable. It's fine, we can go."

"But I wanna help her first!" Steven insisted, looking back up to Peridot. "Who are you looking for? What do they look like?"

"Um. . . well." Peridot wanted to shut him down again, tell him it was fine and keep searching herself. But the kid just kept staring at her with big, starry eyes. He just seemed so friendly. He really wanted to help. . .

Peridot sighed, giving in to their offer. "She's really tall, short blonde hair, usually wears a yellow necklace, dresses kinda fancy."

Steven nodded at each detail, racking his brain for a match. "Um . . . Sadie has short blonde hair, but she's not really tall. . . um. . . "

Peridot waited impatiently, glancing around the area as the two kids thought and murmured to each other.

"Oh! Oh! I think we saw someone like her a little while ago! We were by um . . . uh . . . " Steven bumped his knuckles against his head, trying to get himself to remember.

"We were by Funland!" Connie chimed in, smiling as Steven's face lit up.

"Yeah! She was going into Funland! It's the amusement park over there!" Steven said, pointing in a certain direction. "Just look for the ferris wheel. It's super easy to spot."

Peridot nodded, looking back down at the kids, a little surprised at their helpfulness. "Wow, thanks for the help."

"No problem!" Steven said, running around Peridot, his hand in Connie's as they passed by her, waving.

"Bye Peridot! It was nice to meet you!" Steven called out.

"I hope you find who you're looking for!" Connie added.

And with that, the kids were gone, and Peridot headed off towards the ferris wheel.


	22. Intentions

Peridot spotted Jaune outside of Fun Land, sitting on a bench with a cup of coffee in her hands, staring intently off at something.

Peridot nervously gripped at her wrist, focusing on the light pain from her scraped up hands. She was suddenly feeling anxious. She had been so confident in this on the way up here. She was going to find Jaune, talk things out, and make sure Rose was okay. That was it. That was the plan. But now that she was here, standing a few feet away from her, she didn't know what to do. How would she go about this? Just waltz right up and demand an explanation for everything that happened between them? Blatantly accuse her of trying to get back at Rose? It wasn't logical. It didn't make sense.

Peridot's feet were moving.

_Oh God..._

Peridot let out a shaky breath.

It was okay. This was why she came here. She couldn't go back now. She needed to say something to her. Anything. Yell. Tell her she never wanted to see her again. Demand that she admit about using her. Anything to move past the stage they were in right now, because Peridot couldn't handle that.

Peridot walked up to the side of the bench, nervously wringing her hands together.

Jaune was still staring off into the distance. Peridot frowned.

"U-um. . . hey, Jaune."

Jaune quickly looked up at Peridot, the look of shock on her face slowly melting into an unreadable expression. Peridot tried not to look nervous.

"Hi, I'm, um-"

"Peridot. What are you-"

"I'm sorry, I- I was just-"

Jaune shook her head, putting her face in her palm.

_Peridot was much clingier than she thought she'd be._

"Um . . . Jaune?"

Jaune raised her head up. "Sorry. It's nothing. I'm just . . . _surprised_ to see you."

Peridot let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah, well, I'm surprised I'm here. I wasn't planning on follow you, I just- I just needed to-"

Jaune stopped her, patting the spot next to her on the bench. Peridot couldn't stop her lips from curling into a smile. She sat down.

"As long as your here, I could use your help."

Peridot looked confused. "Help? Help with what? Is it with Rose?"

Jaune opened her mouth to speak, but seemed to hesitate. After a moment, she looked back at Peridot with a friendly smile, her hand resting on Peridot's shoulder.

" _Peri_ , are you still willing to help me?"

Peridot froze at her touch, but she-

 _No_. No, she wasn't going to get sucked into this again. She wasn't going to do anything else for Jaune.

She was going to do this for Rose.

_Play along._

"Yes, of course! Just tell me what you need. Anything."

Jaune nodded, gently turning Peridot in a certain direction, pointing over to . . . Steven and Connie.

The two of them were kneeling on the ground, rummaging around a weird, hamburger-shaped backpack for something.

"That boy over there. That's the Universe's child, right?"

Peridot slowly nodded. "Yeah, he's the one from the pictures. Why?"

Jaune slid her hand off Peridot's shoulder, resting it back on the back of the bench. "I previously thought that Rose having a child would be an inconvenience, but actually, I think this might work to my advantage."

Peridot bit her lip, looking over at Steven nervously, then back up at Jaune.

"What- what do you mean?"

"Rose broke apart our family." Jaune stated, a cold look on her face. Her eyes scanned over to Steven.

". . . It's only fair that I return the favor."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters 23 and 24 will be out tomorrow :)


	23. Fighting Back

"So I just _pretended_ to be okay with it so that she would tell me what she was planning to do." Peridot explained, watching as her friends stared back at her, looks ranging between shock and concern on their faces.

The three of them were currently seated outside the Big Donut, sitting down at small table and eating various foods Lapis and Jasper had bought from the boardwalk. It was starting to get dark outside, and the group had been here for the past fifteen minutes, eating and listening while Peridot explaining the current situation.

Jasper wiped her mouth off with the back of her hand, looking up at Peridot with tired eyes. "Do you still like her _now_?" she asked gruffly. Both her and Lapis stared at Peridot, curious, mildly annoyed, and waiting for a response. Peridot shrunk under their gazes.

" _That's not the issue here!_ What are we supposed to do now? About this whole thing Jaune's planning?" 

None of them said anything.

Lapis took a sip of water from her cup before fiddling with it in her hands. She glanced at the ground, avoiding an answer.

Jasper huffed, flicking a bit of her food onto the ground. " _Listen,_  Dot, we're getting into some pretty sick stuff here. I say we just head back. Let Jaune do her thing. Let Rose protect her kid. We don't have a reason to get involved in all this, other than just feeling obligated to." Jasper shrugged, stuffing a couple fries into her mouth. "It works out well that way. If you just up and leave, Jaune gets the hint that you don't want nothin' to do with her anymore. Everything works out."

Peridot sighed, absentmindedly picking sprinkles off of her donut. "But I need to tell Rose-"

 _"You already did."_ Jasper stated, cutting her off. "She _knows_ to look out, so lets just go."

Peridot stared down at the table, uncertainty written all over her face.

Lapis sighed, resting her elbows on the table, and her head on her hand. "Look. Peridot. If you're still not sure about this whole thing, we can just stay here for a night. If you can think of something you'd rather do by tomorrow, then tell us. If you can't think of anything, then we'll go home. That sound good to you? Are we done with this conversation?"

Peridot thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I can do that." she said, looking a little more focused. "I'll think of something . . . "

"Yeah, that's a great plan and all, but then where are we gonna sleep tonight?" Jasper asked. "We haven't exactly got a place to stay, you know."

"I think we passed by a motel a few miles back, we could sleep there." Peridot suggested.

Jasper snorted, a lazy grin on her face. "Yeah? And who's gonna pay for it? We don't have that kinda money, shorty. We're goin' out on a limb here spending so much on food and gas. And i'm not givin' up my booze money. That's off limits."

Lapis frowned, glancing off to the distance in the direction of the parking lot. "Well, we've got Peridot's car . . . "

Jasper hung her head back, running her hands over her face. "You've got to be fucking kidding me. I'm not sleeping in a car."

"Then sleep outside. More room for us." Peridot stated, flicking her napkin at Jasper's face, grinning as Jasper glared back at her.

"Then can you do me a favor and run me over? I'm getting real sick of-"

"I'm getting real sick of  _both of you_!!" Lapis shouted, glaring at Jasper and Peridot. The two of them sat shocked in their seats, sharing a quick look between each other before looking back at their friend.

"We've argued for too goddamned long over this whole mess. _Jasper!"_ she shouted, pointing a finger at her. "Learn to keep your mouth shut! _Peridot!"_ she continued, pointing the finger to her. "Figure out what the hell you want to do!" she said, abruptly standing from her seat and walking off.

Peridot opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off as Lapis shouted again from a distance.

_"I get the backseat!"_

Jasper and Peridot sat for a moment, watching as Lapis walked away and disappeared behind the boardwalk shops.

Jasper let out a low whistle, grinning as she looked back down at the table. "Damn. . ."

She looked back up at Peridot, picking up and throwing a ketchup covered fry at her face.

_"I call shotgun."_

* * *

_ Peridot couldn't sleep. _

Jasper and Lapis were asleep in the car. Jasper lied down in the passenger's side seat, leaning the chair back the whole way, her feet propped up on the dash. Lapis had sprawled herself out in the backseat, using her bag as an uncomfortable pillow.

The three of them were restlessly changing positions in discomfort, taking a good two or three hours before any of them fell asleep. But Peridot couldn't seem to get there, tossing and turning in her seat before she finally gave up, heading outside to do some thinking.

She stepped out from the driver's seat, sitting down on one of the concrete parking blocks, resting her head on her knees.

_It was nearly 1 AM._

Peridot sighed, wrapping her arms around herself. She needed to think about this. About what she wanted to do. 

One thing she knew for certain, if she ended up going along with Jasper's plan, she would have to stop by and tell Rose what Jaune had told her. Rose needed to know that Steven was potentially in danger. Peridot wasn't going to just let that go.

But if she wanted to do something different, _which she did,_ she would have to be logical.

She could go to the police about the situation, but police officers usually couldn't do a thing about potential threats until something physical actually happened, and they sure as heck couldn't arrest without evidence. What if she had to go into detail about how she acquired the information? Or ended up needing to explain her relationship with Jaune? _No one else needed to about hear that,_ Peridot thought. 

She could try talking to her again. The first time that she tried to didn't go to well, but Jaune had been drinking that night. If Jaune was sober, then maybe it would go differently? Last time, Peridot didn't really get a chance to sit down and have a conversation, because Jaune didn't let her. But this time, Peridot was going to do it.  _Hell, she was gonna go right now!_  Peridot thought, standing up from the cement block.

"Thinking about what you wanna do?" Lapis asked.

Peridot jumped, turning around and looking at Lapis with a startled expression. "Fuc- _Lapis!_ Could you start _warning_ me when you're directly behind me!?"

Lapis smiled, walking over to sit on the parking block. Peridot sighed, sitting back down.

". . . Wanna leave?" 

"I want to talk talk to her."

Lapis gave Peridot a skeptical look. "Again?"

Peridot nodded. "Yup. Again."

"You know how it turned out last time, right?"

"I won't let that happen again." Peridot said, a little confidence in her voice. "I'm gonna fight back. I'm gonna tell Jaune that what she's doing is wrong."

Lapis frowned, kicking at a the gravel. ". . . and if she doesn't listen?"

"Then . . . we tell Rose, and . . . we go home, I guess."

Lapis glanced over her shoulder to the car, then back at Peridot.

". . . You're positive?"

Peridot nodded. _"Mm."_

Lapis shook her head and smiled, draping an arm over Peridot's shoulder. "You're my favorite idiot, you know that?"

Peridot opened her mouth, then shut it. She didn't exactly know how to respond. ". . . Was that a compliment?"

Lapis shrugged. "Yeah, kinda."

Peridot nodded, letting a smile slip onto her face. "Well then, you're my favorite _clod_. Because you're not . . . _as cloddy_ as the rest of them."

Lapis laughed, slipping her arm off Peridot's shoulder and resting it on her knee. ". . . Just . . . Be careful. Okay?"

Peridot nodded, turning around in her seat to give Lapis a hug, burying her face into her neck. 

"Yeah . . . okay." she murmured, a sad look crossing onto her face.  ". . . Hey. I'm sorry about, uh, always making fun of your guy's feelings about, um, your love life, and stuff. It . . . it's not as dumb as I thought it was . . . it sucks."

Lapis held onto Peridot tightly, only letting go once Peridot did so first, giving her a sympathetic smile.

"It's fine. Besides, it's not like either one of us got caught up with some manipulative vengeful jerk. You've got us beat."

Peridot forced out a laugh, looking back down to the ground. "Yeah . . . "

"Hey." 

"Yeah?"

"After all this is over and done with, and Jaune is out of our lives, I want my goofy, dorky Peridot back. Desperate and mopey doesn't suit you."

Peridot smiled, giving Lapis a quick nod. " _Pfft_ , alright, sure. Does this mean you'll watch Camp Pining Hearts with me?"

"Not in your dreams."

The both of them chuckled, smiling at each other.

"Well . . . Goodnight." Peridot said.

"Goodnight. Get back soon."

"I'll try."

And with that, Peridot left for the motel, and Lapis headed back to sleep.

* * *

 

_Knock Knock_

_. . . . ._

_KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK_

_. . . . ._

_KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK_

_. . . . ._

_. . . . ._

KNOCK KNOCK

 

After being woken up by an incredibly determined amount of knocking, Jaune finally forced herself out of her bed, walking over to the door and looking through the peephole.

_. . . Oh, you've got to be kidding me._

Jaune opened the door to a rather confident looking Peridot, which was rather odd, considering that any other time Peridot interacted with Jaune, she was mostly tense or nervous.

"Hey, i'm sorry to-"

Jaune raised a hand to stop her. She was irritated, _beyond_ annoyed that Peridot could **_not_ ** seem to just leave her alone. From the times she -unexpectedly- came to her house, to _following_ her to Beach City, to waking her up at _one fucking a.m._ She needed _one_ thing out of this kid. Maybe at one time or another, spending time with Peridot had been pleasant. _The helpfulness at the post office. The admiration. The stupid attempt at making her coffee. Finding Rose._ _But now?_ Now she was just ready to get this kid out of her life.

But at the same time, Jaune needed to stay within certain boundaries. She couldn't get too far on this kid's bad side. Peridot was the only one who was informed about what she was doing, and she couldn't risk that.

"How did you know which room I was in?" Jaune asked, trying to mask the irritation in her voice with exhaustion, it being so late at night.

"I asked the guy in the lobby."

Jaune nodded, stepping aside and ushering Peridot inside the room.

"What do you need?" Jaune asked, shutting the door behind her.

"I wanted to- to talk to you about this whole situation. I wanted to tell you that . . . " Peridot bit her lip, clenching and relaxing her hands. She looked a little more nervous now, much like she usually did. "That I . . . I think it's wrong, what you're doing here. I think you need to leave Rose and her family alone."

. . . . . 

Jaune was quiet.

Peridot couldn't get herself to look up. She stared down at the floor and at her feet, waiting for a response. 

" _. . . Peridot._ " Jaune said, her voice stern and bitter. "My plans here are  _none_ of your concern, _or_ you're right to control. I do _not_ need your input on this. If you no longer want to assist me, that is **_fine_** , but what I choose to do with my sister is none of your business."

Peridot grit her teeth, still unable to look Jaune in the eyes. "But it **_is_ ** my business! You _told_ me about her and I helped you! This is just as much my problem as it is yours!

"Peridot, this is not-"

"If I were to tell Rose-"

Jaune snapped.

Jaune grabbed Peridot by the forearms and squeezed, scowling down at her. Peridot winced at the hold Jaune had on her, a look of fear briefly crossing over her face. She looked up at Jaune, at furious yellow-toned eyes. Peridot went stiff under that gaze.

  
"Don't you _**dare** _ tell Rose that i'm here. She _cannot. know. this. **Do you understand?"**_

Peridot shut her eyes tightly. She knew that Rose was already expecting Jaune, but, if she had something to hold over Jaune's head, to threaten her with . . . to get her to leave . . .

". . . _No._ " Peridot said, opening her eyes, only to cast them to the side, avoiding Jaune's face. "I'm not just going to let you hurt Steven! I'm going to tell Rose you're here if you don't leave, _tonight_. Do **_you_** understand?"

Jaune's body tensed, a look of absolute horror and rage crossing over her face. She bit down on her tongue and closed her eyes, taking a breath and trying to calm herself.

Peridot waited for a long moment before Jaune looked back down at her, a blank expression on her face.

" _. . . You like me, correct?_ "

". . . well- I-"

"Then maybe this will help you understand."

Peridot felt herself being shoved against the bathroom door, her hands pinned against it and Jaune's mouth forcing itself onto her's. It took a moment for Peridot's brain to catch up to her body, but she became aware of herself twisting her wrists around in Jaune's grip, which only resulted in Jaune creating a firmer hold. But eventually, Jaune released one of Peridot's wrists, lifting her hand up to grip Peridot's jaw and force her into the kiss. Peridot tried to shove Jaune off with her free hand, but felt her body slowly stop resisting. Her arm went slack, hanging loosely at her side, while her other hand stopped moving in Jaune's hold.

And Peridot gave in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. :) Really quickly, I just wanted to say that I'm really, really sorry that some of the previous chapters were a bit short, or not very descriptive, or if they were disappointing at all. It's a little hard to get back into writing, and I made the mistake of waiting to complete/edit those chapters last night right before posting them. I was editing and posting all those chapters really late at night, and my mind kind of gave out on me, which is why this chapter didn't get posted with the rest of them. I was able to edit and work on this one this afternoon, so I hope it turned out a little nicer. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy! :)


	24. Crash and Burn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Might be a little NSFW. Just a little.

_5:45 AM._

_What an ungodly early time to be awake._

Peridot watched, dazed and exhausted as the first few rays of sunshine crept through the blinds, weakly lighting the small motel room and spreading over her body, which laid tangled in the bed sheets alongside Jaune.

The past few hours had melted in Peridot's mind, blurred from light sleep and forced away with guilty repression. They had been laying there for a while now, both only having gotten somewhere near an hour or two of sleep. The rest of the time had been spent doing things neither of the two were proud of, but that both had enjoyed for entirely different reasons. Jaune was still under the belief that she had Peridot wrapped around her finger, keeping her secret safe and holding onto a useful helping hand. Peridot, once again, got to live under the illusion that Jaune had sincerely cared for and wanted her, even if the truth was far from hidden from her.

Somewhere in between the mess of bed sheets and limbs laid Peridot’s glasses, which were removed during the night’s previous . . . activity. Peridot gingerly reached out and slid them back onto her face, scanning over the room with clearer vision.

It all happened just because Jaune had kissed her, again.

She had given in, again.

How pathetic.

How _stupid._

Even when Jaune's kiss was so much more harsh and uncaring, even when the truth was blatantly pushed in front of her face, even when Jaune had proved to be a selfish person, with selfish intent . . . she gave in.

Peridot managed a stiff, broken looking smile, pushing the side of her face deeper into the pillow, which lifted her glasses up into an awkward position on her face.

Love was such a scary thing. Love, infatuation, crushes, all of it. They could all make you blind to so many little things. Sometimes you end up idolizing people. Sometimes you end up loving them so much, that you can't see the things they're doing wrong. Sometimes you _know_ what they're doing is wrong, but you don't do anything, because there’s that fear, that fear that you don't want them to hate you. It’s scary, having so much of your emotion built into a single person, because it feels as if they're in control of it, whether you want them to be or not, and whether they want to be or not.

_And that’s why she had given in again._

To some sick woman who wanted to hurt Rose's kid.

To some mean woman who had lied and used her.

To the woman she promised her friends she would forget.

To her professor.

To a very attractive woman.

To a woman who had given her attention, car rides, a home cooked meal, _'love'_ , compliments, interest.

To a very smart, confident, interesting, flawless, beautiful . . .

Peridot buried her face into her hands.

"What's the matter, Peri?" Jaune asked in a sickly-sweet tone of voice, her tongue perfectly mimicking genuine care and concern.

Peridot knew she was faking. They both knew, and they both knew that Jaune had Peridot wrapped around her finger. No matter how much either of them hated it.

And boy, did they both hate it.

"Didn't I give you what you wanted?"

Peridot shook her head, gripping at the top of Jaune's hands.

"Do you want better grades in class? Do you want _this_ again? What? What is it you want?" Jaune questioned, gently tracing her nails up and down Peridot’s arm, resting them atop of her shoulder.

Peridot stiffened as a shiver ran up her spine, pulling the sheets up to cover her arms.

". . . I want you to tell me how you really feel about me. I want you to admit you've been using me. I want . . . “ Peridot frowned, dropping her hand down onto the sheets.

“. . . _I just want to move on from you_."

Jaune pulled Peridot a little closer, pressing her cheek against Peridot’s shoulder. She leaned in, whispering a hushed, three-word sentence into her ear.

Peridot screwed her eyes shut, gripping at Jaune's hands a little tighter.

"I changed my mind. I want you to leave Rose and her family alone."

Jaune frowned, gripping at Peridot's abdomen a little tighter, more possessively.

"I'm doing this for you _because_ of Rose and her family. You agreed to assist me with this. I can stay here as long as I need to. You are _not_ going to ruin this. I've waited too long for this opportunity to show itself."

Peridot winced at the hold Jaune had on her, trying her adjust herself in Jaune's arms, which only resulted in a tighter hold and Jaune's lips against her neck.

Peridot melted at the touch.

She didn't know how to feel about this. She knew how she _should_ feel, but was beginning to get frustrated with how she was _actually_ feeling.

A mixture of butterflies and dread pooling in her stomach.

A combination of fear and excitement running through her body.

Happiness and anger overloading her mind.

She wanted to cry and smile at the same time.

She wanted to leave and never move again at the same time.

This was a fucked-up situation.

Peridot's emotions were fucked up.

_Goddamn it._

It was wrong, but she wanted it regardless. But she had caused her friends enough trouble. She had put Rose and her family in too much potential danger. She had let down Amethyst, and Pearl, and Garnet. She had screwed herself over. She needed to end it.

And the only way to end it was to ruin it.

Get rid of the advantage Jaune had over her.

Make herself useless to her.

Ruin it.

.   .   .

_“Rose already knows . . .!"_

.   .   . 

_". . . What?"_


	25. To The Rescue & A Nice Breakfast

. . .

_". . . What?"_

Peridot sucked in a shallow breath, focusing her eyes on the carpet.

_She could do this._

"Rose . . . knows you're here. She . . . I . . . I talked to her, a few days ago. I told her you were coming. She'll know it's you, if you hurt Steven . . ."

. . .

Seconds passed by in silence. The sound of Peridot's heart pounding was deafening in her ears. A part of her ached to move, to twitch, to speak, to make some sort of little change, but she was too overridden by the fear that if she moved, Jaune would to.

And she wasn't ready to face everything crumbling down.

And luckily, she didn't have to.

Instead, Peridot found her face crashing down against the nightstand, her cheek hitting the surface before her head hit the floor.

Jaune had shoved her off the bed, leaving behind a tangled mess of bed sheets as she stood up.

" _YOU INCOMPETENT-"_ she began, her hand wrapping around an empty glass on the nightstand.

In a blind rage, she threw it at Peridot.

Peridot let out a something between a scream and a gasp, barely moving out of the way before the glass shattered against the wall, leaving behind a mess of little scrapes and notches in the beige paint. Peridot felt pieces of the glass break off and scatter against her skin, leaving behind small fragments of glass on her clothes.

" _-LITTLE_ _ **BRAT**_ _!"_

Peridot's head snapped up, watching as Jaune began walking around to her side of the bed, _closer to her._

Peridot quickly scurried to her feet, making a dash for one of the larger pillows at the head of the bed, desperate to find some sort of protection.

Jaune immediately snapped her hand over to Peridot, taking ahold of her wrist and yanking her across the bed.

Panic took ahold of Peridot's system. She couldn't move. She couldn't breathe right. She couldn't think clearly. She didn't even realize what had happened until after it was over.

_The touch of puffiness on Jaune's left cheek._

_Her hand felt tight and sweaty, balled into a fist as her hip._

_She had punched Jaune._

She looked down at the bed, trying to gain control of her thoughts.

The white sheets seemed to help clear her mind. If she just kept staring at them, maybe she would get tired and fall asleep. Maybe she would wake up and realize that none of this had ever happened.

She felt a cold touch on her face, lifting up her head so she could stare at bright, angry yellow eyes.

This felt like a dream.

_I wish this was a dream._

Because the look on Jaune's face in that moment . . .

Peridot was almost certain she was going to die.

Peridot felt Jaune's nails digging into cheek, the sting of pain drawing her back into a less dreamy state of mind. Jaune looked as if she was about to speak, but Peridot shoved her arms out in front of her, pushing Jaune away.

Jaune stumbled back, her nails dragging across Peridot's face and catching onto her glasses, sliding them off until they were on the floor, and the world became a blurry canvas of colors and abstract shapes.

Peridot scurried off the bed and onto her knees, making a quick and desperate attempt to grab a hold of her glasses, only to have a foot stomp down onto her fingers once she reached them. Peridot let out a yell pain, dropping the glasses and clutching her hand within the other.

" _After everything I did for you. . . "_ Jaune seethed, taking another step forward, glaring down at a terrified and red-faced Peridot, until she had her backed against the nightstand.

Jaune smoothed her fingers through Peridot's hair, and Peridot's breathing immediately became uneven and ragged.

She couldn't see. She didn't know what to do. She wanted to run. She wanted to punch her again. She felt too scared to move. She didn't know what to do. She didn't know what to-

She felt the back of her head slam against the nightstand.

She saw stars.

" _. . . AND IT WAS ALL FOR_ _ **NOTHING**_ _!"_

In a quick, dizzying motion, Peridot hit Jaune's hand away from her, rolling to the side and getting to her feet. She felt like she was going to throw up. She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself and keep herself calm. Her ears rang and her head throbbed.

Her voice was shaking.

" _You know. . . !_ This probably isn't a good time to ask. . . _but-!"_

Peridot stumbled, dodging an attempt that Jaune made to grab at her.

"-but why don't you just _talk_ to her!?"

"Because there is nothing to _discuss_! There are only consequences to be implemented her actions!" Jaune shouted, finally managing to grab a hold of Peridot's arm, yanking her closer with a wrinkled, enraged expression. ". . . and now there are consequences for _you_."

Peridot braced herself for a hit, to be pushed down, for some sort of blow to happen. Jaune only managed to tug Peridot across the room before they both stopped in their tracks.

A crunch from underneath Jaune's feet, followed by a hushed, furious cursing.

_Her glasses_

_**SLAM!** _

Following the crunch, the next sound they both heard was the room door flying open, footsteps thumping over the carpet, and startled, shocked voices.

There was a blur of orange fabric.

Then there was a blur of blue fabric.

She felt Jaune's hand let go.

Then there were warm, slender hands intertwining with her own. Peridot was pulled out of the room, fast, and within a minute, she felt the hot turf of the parking lot underneath her feet.

She could tell that it was Lapis. That fact alone was obvious, but without her glasses, everything else around her was a nauseating blur.

If things didn't feel dazed and dreamlike before, they certainly did now.

". . . _Lapis_?"

"What the hell did she do to you?!" Lapis yelled, blindly grabbing at and inspecting every small red mark and bruise on Peridot's body, cupping her face and searching her shoulders and neck for injury.

She sounded like she was about to burst into tears.

"Lapis-"

"Where are your glasses?"

"Lapis-"

"That fucking twisted, evil _, heartless-"_

" _ **Lapis**_ _!"_ Peridot screamed.

Lapis's eyes shot up from Peridot's body to her eyes.

Now Peridot was the one who was going to cry.

" _. . ._ _ **Don't.**_ _"_ she managed to choke out.

Lapis studied Peridot's face for a moment. Bruised, scratched, red, teary eyed.

It was fucking heartbreaking.

Lapis had no choice but to shut up. She nodded, gently taking Peridot's head and pushing it against her, wrapping her arms around the shorter girl and enveloping her in a hug.

And they stayed like that for a while.

* * *

 "Geez, if she's in there for any longer, then were going to be on trial for a murder case." Lapis said, staring out the window towards the motel entrance, waiting for any signs of Jasper. It had been nearly five minutes since they left Jaune's room, and Jasper had yet to follow them out.

Lapis sat in the driver's seat with the key in her hand, while Peridot sat in the backseat, knees drawn up and her head resting against the backrest.

After they spent a few moments calming down in the parking lot, Lapis had tried to push some information out of Peridot again, but she was insistent on not talking about it. They had climbed into the car, and Peridot just hadn't seemed to be up to talking in general.

Lapis's hands trembled as she gripped the keys. Her face felt hot. Her body was tense. She wanted to fucking murder Jaune, and a part of her hoped that's what Jasper was in the middle of doing.

If it were up to her, she'd be up in that motel room with Jasper, screaming, crying, kicking and beating everything she could out of that woman. One of them needed get Peridot out of there, though. One of them needed to stay with Peridot. Lapis was better suited for this. Jasper was _built_ for dealing with people like Jaune.

Lapis looked back at Peridot through the rearview mirror. Her eyes were closed, and her hand was on the back of her head, gently circling around something underneath her hair. The twitch of pain on Peridot's face made Lapis want to _scream_.

Fortunately, she was able to draw her thoughts away from it when she spotted Jasper walking out the door, making her way to the car. The way she walked was too . . . casual. It was as if she _hadn't_ just gotten done potentially beating the shit out of somebody. In fact . . . she didn't look like she had gotten into a fight at all.

The few times Lapis had seen Jasper after a fight, her hair was wild, her face was sweaty, and she had this proud, confident walk. She wore a grin on her face and her fists were always tight and tense, and sometimes, they were bloody.

But  Jasper looked just about the same as when they arrived. Besides the obvious bit of shock and anger they'd experienced, she didn't look too upset.

Jasper climbed into the passenger's seat, buckling up her seat-belt before turning around in her seat, looking Peridot up and down. A smile slowly started growing on her mouth.

". . . _You_ did that to her face?"

Peridot's eyes flickered up to look at Jasper.

_Was she talking about the punch? Had she really left that bad of a mark . . .?_

Peridot huffed, turning her face away from Jasper in favor of the car floor.

"Yeah, and I'll do the same to yours if you don't stop talking about it."

Jasper whistled, letting out a small laugh before turning back around.

"Geez, you're starting to sound like me."

Lapis sighed, slipping the key into the ignition and making her way out of the parking lot.

" _Listen._ Let's not talk about it right now. Let's just drive, okay?"

* * *

" _Let's talk about it_." Jasper suggested.

The group of three were currently seated in a pancake house, occupying a window booth that gave them a rather nice view of the nearby ocean. The restaurant was a dirty, poorly lit and overall dingy looking place. However, there was an orangey-yellow sunlight peeking in from between the blinds, reflecting on the table tops and the tiled floors. It gave everything somewhat of a warm and comforting atmosphere, and with the overall scent of food in the air, it wasn't so bad. Although, they were expecting the food here to be somewhat resembling of the food on campus, which was mildly shitty, but hey, it was something, and it was a cheap something.

Peridot looked up from her menu. Her face was caked in a thin layer of makeup, provided to her by Lapis. The red marks would fade within a day or two, and overall, her cheek didn't look too bad, but the makeup was a must, regardless. She didn't need strangers fretting over her and asking questions. Besides a headache, soreness, and the occasional chip of glass in her shirt, she was fine, anyways.

At least, that's what she kept saying.

"I thought we agreed not to." She said in a tired, mildly irritated tone. Her voice was a quiet, though, and Lapis immediately frowned at her friend's demeanor.

"Well, let's talk about _something_. The three of us are never _this_ depressing and quiet. It's freaky. I don't like it."

Peridot's mouth twitched a little in annoyance. She looked like she was going to say something, but decided against it. Instead, she let out a huff, and her eyes drifted back down to the menu.

" . . . I can't see a damn thing on here."

Jasper immediately plucked the menu from her hands, giving it a quick glance before setting it back down at the edge of the table.

"I'll order for you."

"You don't what I-"

"I've been your room mate for _how_ long now? I know what you eat for breakfast, cool it."

Peridot shot Jasper a quizzical look.

"Since when are _you_ one to _'cool it'_ yourself?"

Jasper took a sip milk from her cup, letting out a sigh before setting it back down.

"Since I figured it was the best way to talk to you. If you don't wanna talk, then shut up and help Lapis with those creamers. Her tower looks like shit."

Lapis shot Jasper a dirty look, her hands submerged within the little bowl of coffee creamer cups, a half built, unsteady looking tower slowly being constructed besides it.

"Shut up. It's not like you could make a better one."

Jasper let out a soft laugh, holding up a hand in surrender. "Yeah yeah, whatever. I'm just say'n if I was a tower, and I looked like _that_ -" she said, pointing to the little coffee creamer building. "- I wouldda knocked myself over by now."

Lapis stuck out her tongue and Jasper let out another laugh. Peridot squinted at the objects on the table, managing to pick up one of the discarded creamers. She went to stack it on Lapis's tower, but without her glasses, well, inevitably knocked it over. The three sat in silence for a moment before Jasper started laughing again, and Peridot dropped her head on the table, letting out a small groan.

"I'm sorry. . . "

Lapis frowned, rubbing Peridot's back and gently running her fingers over the back of her head, searching for what Peridot was touching in the car. Eventually, her fingertips ran over a bump, and Peridot let out a muffled sound of discomfort.

' _Fucking Jaune . . .'_ Lapis thought, letting out a quiet, steady breath to try and calm herself down. Getting angry wasn't going to help right now.

"It's alright. . ." Lapis soothed, running her fingers up and down Peridot's arm until they lingered on her wrist, and before Lapis could consider it herself, Peridot was holding her hand, giving it a tight squeeze. Lapis smiled, keeping one hand firmly in Peridot's grasp while the other worked to rebuild her tower, a tint of red forming on her cheeks.

Jasper bit the inside of her cheek, eyeing the two of them before the waitress came up to their table, and pen and notepad in her hand, a tired look on her face, and a work-required smile on her mouth.

"You all ready to order now?"

Jasper mumbled in response, nodding over to Lapis to start.

Lapis gave the waitress a polite smile, ordering herself a plate of French toast before handing over her menu.

"And for you?"

"I'll take an omelet." Jasper said, waiting for the waitress to write it down before continuing. "And the sad kid over there" she said, pointing over to Peridot, whose face was still resting on the table top. "She'll take a stack of chocolate chip pancakes."

The waitress nodded, glancing at Peridot with a mild look of concern before scribbling the order down onto the paper, tucking the menus under her arm and looking back over the three. "Will that be all for you girls?"

"Uh, actually" Jasper chimed in "On those pancakes, can you do that thing with the whipped cream where you make a face? I think she needs something to brighten up her da- _ **OW**_!" Jasper shouted, glaring down Peridot's unamused face. There was a red mark on her forehead from having rested on the table for so long.

" _Why'd you kick me!?_ I'm just trying to help!"

"I'm not a kid. I don't need faces on my food."

"You love shit like that though! You draw that stupid alien face on all your papers!"

The waitress managed to crack a genuine smile, writing down one last thing before disappearing behind the kitchen walls, leaving the three to bicker amongst themselves. Just like always.

"Look, I'm just saying, I'm . . ." Jasper began, looking between Lapis and Peridot, back down to their hands, and then closing her eyes, letting out a sigh before resting her hand on top of the two of theirs. "Look, I'm here for you too, okay? I care too."

Lapis and Peridot looked down at their hands, then at each other, a small look of surprise on their faces.

Peridot looked at Jasper awkwardly. She wasn't used to this. Even when Jasper did care about things, she never really _admitted_ it. She'd keep it to herself, and she just . . . didn't act like this.

"Um . . . yeah, I know that." Peridot said, watching in amazement as a look of relief crossed over Jasper's face.

"Good." she said, retracting her hand and resting her head on her palm, flicking one of the creamer cups across the table, onto the floor.

Peridot watched as the blurry object tumbled out of sight, and she began to play around with her napkin-wrapped silver wear.

Jasper stared down at Peridot, soaking in little details about her. She looked so different without her glasses. She looked smaller than usual when she was hunched over, almost like a little kid. Her makeup was powdery and poorly blended. A small bruise poked out from underneath her sleeve. She looked sad. She looked distant.

She looked a lot like Lapis did when they first met.

". . . So, are you ready to go home?" Lapis quietly asked.

Peridot nodded her head slightly, closing her eyes for a moment. She felt like she was going to fall asleep right then and there.

". . . Yeah, I think so."

A few moments passed by, and their breakfast arrived at the table. To their pleasant surprise, each of their meals came out with a goofy face on it. None of the three could help but crack a smile.

Jasper grinned down at the sloppily drawn ketchup face on her plate, using her fork to cut off its eye.

' _No, we're not going home yet.'_ she thought, chewing at the food on her fork.

' _We're gonna take a quick detour.'_


	26. A Little Detour - Best Friends

“You can’t turn this into a fucking road trip, Jasper. We have _classes_ back on campus. We have _jobs._ We’re running out of money for food and gas!”

“We’re running out of _cash_. Are debit cards aren’t goin' anywhere.”

“Really? You want to _waste_ your savings and drive around aimlessly, just for fun?”

“I wanna waste my savings driving around to _cheer my friend up._ And to do that, yes, we’re gonna go have fun. _”_

“Why couldn’t we have just gone to that amusement park back in Beach City? For God’s sake, we could’ve just gone to the beach there!”

“Oh, I’m sorry, why are you so _against_ helping our friend? Did you not just _see_ the shit she just went through?”

“ ** _Of course_** I want to help her! She’s **_tired_** , Jasper. _I’m_ tired. _You’re_ tired. She needs a _bed_. She needs _us_. She needs her spare glasses. She needs some ice for her head. She needs to be as _far away_ from that _lunatic_ of a woman as possible!”

“Yeah, and I’m sure that our school campus, where that _‘lunatic’_ teaches, is _exactly_ where she wants to be right now.”

Lapis shot Jasper a dirty look, crossing her arms and glaring out the window.

“. . . I skip work one more time and I’m fired. I can’t blow it off.”

“I’m not giving you a choice.”

. . .

“I just thought that-“

Jasper’s foot abruptly stomped on the brake, jerking Lapis forward in her seat before she was painfully restricted by her seatbelt. She looked at Jasper with absolute outrage. Jasper looked back with an irritated expression, unlocking the doors, and motioning for Lapis to get out.

“You know what? Feel free to walk home if you want. I’m taking Peridot out to have fun and forget about what just happened. _That’s_ what she needs. To _forget_ about it. Sleeping and not caring is how _you_ deal with things. So, either you stop bitching about it, or I’m doing this myself.”

Lapis stared back at Jasper in shock, allowing herself a few moments to regain her composure, re-buckling her seat belt and rubbing at her now sore collarbone.

“Geez. What happened to that little sweet spot you had for me?”

“It’s gone sour until this trip is over.”

“. . . Are you sure _you’re_ not the one who took a blow to the head?”

Jasper let out a bitter laugh, taking her foot off the brakes and carrying on down the road.

The car was quiet for a little while, and Lapis silently shifted in her seat, turning around in order to look back at Peridot.

After the three had finished breakfast, Peridot voiced how tired she was, and promptly took up the entire backseat so that she could sleep. Her head was resting on top of Lapis’s balled up jacket, while two seat belts were awkwardly stretched over and around her body to keep her buckled in. It was probably a safety hazard, but Peridot was adamant to lay down.

Lapis frowned a little, turning back around in her seat.

“ . . . So, did you hit her?” she asked.

“Who? Professor Prick? I didn’t lay on hand on her, other than pullin’ her off Peridot.”

Lapis raised an eyebrow. “So . . . you just . . . ?”

“We just talked.”

“You . . . _just_ talked?”

“Yup.”

“. . . What’s gotten into you?”

“What?”

“You’ve done a complete 180 since we got here. You’ve never hesitated to hit some jerk before.”

“You mad that I didn’t?”

“To be completely honest? I’m _pissed_ that you didn’t.”

“Ha, yeah, I figured.”

“. . . If you’re trying to ‘change for the better’ or whatever, this was probably the worst time to do it.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Positive.”

. . .

“So, what did you say to her?”

“I just told her to leave Peridot the fuck alone, leave Rose alone, and go back to being a boring old teacher.”

“. . . That’s it?”

“Yeah, that’s it.”

“. . . You’re lying.”

“Oh yeah? Why do you think that?”

“You were in there too long to just _‘_ talk’ to her. _What happened?”_

“ _Talking._ That’s it.”

“Then what _else_ did you talk about?”

Jasper sighed, running a hand through her hair and glancing over to Lapis, a mildly distressed look on her face.

“Look, it happened and it’s done with, let’s just drop it and move on. Focus on Peridot. Alright?”

Lapis looked like she was about to protest, but she shut her mouth, leaning back into her seat and huffing, a frustrated and defeated look on her face. “Fine. Whatever.”

Jasper seemed to relax a bit, suddenly becoming aware of how tense her shoulders had been. She softened her grip on the steering wheel and took another look over at Lapis, who was leaning back with her eyes closed. She looked stressed.

“. . . Sorry. I didn’t mean to say you were a bad friend or anything. You’re not. I wasn’t really gonna make you walk home, either.”

“Wow. Apologizing too. I can hardly recognize you anymore.”

“Hah. Maybe I can sneak in another try at askin’ you out then. Since I’ve _‘changed for the better’,_ or whatever. _”_

“Yeah. Maybe.”

Jasper’s eyes grew a little wide, a look of disbelief on her face as she turned to Lapis, suddenly excited.

“ _Really!?_ You think you’d give it a chance now?”

Lapis looked a little taken back, staring at Jasper with a strange expression before responding. “Uhh. No, not really.”

Jasper deflated a little, grumbling and slumping in her seat in an over-exaggerated manner, staring at the road with a grumpy expression. “Fine. I’ll just go back to being an asshole then.”

Lapis frowned, a minute or two passing by in silence, other than the sounds of the humming engine. She mentally debated with herself, eventually subjecting to a look of defeat, looking out the window in order to avoid eye contact.

“Fine. After this is all over, and we get back to campus, I’ll . . . I’ll give it a try. **_Once_**. For _**one** _ date. I’ll give you a chance.”

Jasper sat up straight, staring down at Lapis in shock, who was shifting uncomfortably in her seat.

“. . . You seriously mean that?”

“Yeah. Sure. Whatever.”

Jasper was practically beaming, grinning from ear to ear and driving with a little more enthusiasm.

“ _No way._ Why the sudden change of heart?”

“I don’t know. Why _your_ sudden change in attitude?”

Jasper grinned, suddenly much more eager for conversation. “It’s ‘cuz Garnet told me I should. I wasn’t getting anywhere with Peridot. She told me this would help.”

Lapis looked a little surprised, a small smile forming on her face.

“. . . and you’re _actually_ trying?”

“Yup.”

“Huh . . .”

The car drive continued on, and the two sat comfortably besides one another. The radio was turned on at a soft volume, and Peridot’s snores could occasionally be heard from the backseat.

And for a while, things seemed calm between the three of them.

* * *

 

“Hey . . . Peridot. Time to wake up.” Lapis whispered, gently rocking Peridot’s shoulder.

Peridot groaned, pressing her hand over her eyes to block out the sunlight. Her head was pounding and her body ached.  She dreaded opening her eyes, because she knew when she did, the world would be blurry, and her headache would get worse.

“Are we back at campus?” She asked groggily.

Lapis frowned as she undid the seatbelts, allowing Peridot the freedom to roll onto her back.

“No, were not on campus.”

“Then why are you waking me up?”

“Because-“

“Because were somewhere better! Get your ass up! We’re gonna go have a good time!”

Peridot sat there for a moment, hands still covering her face, before she rolled onto her stomach, covering the entirety of her head with Lapis’s jacket.

“Let me know when we get to campus.”

Jasper frowned, pushing Lapis away from the car door so that she could get inside herself, reaching in and dragging Peridot out by her feet.

Peridot groaned as she was dragged from the car, her voice becoming louder and louder until she was yelling in a high pitched and annoying tone, screaming and kicking for Jasper to let go of her.

“ _Woah!_ Fuck, calm _down!_ For God’s sake people are gonna think we’re kidnapping you!”

“ _Good!_ Then maybe they’ll drive me back home and away from you!”

Jasper’s eye twitched in irritation, picking Peridot up and pinning her to her chest, Peridot squirming and kicking in protest.

“Well good luck with that. You can’t lose me even if you fucking tried.” Jasper said, walking over to hood of the car and placing Peridot down on it, running her fingers through Peridot’s hair in an attempt to brush it out, straightening her clothes and sticking her shoes back onto her feet.

“You look like garbage.” Jasper stated.

“I feel like garbage.” Peridot replied, losing her fight and simply allowing Jasper to do what she wanted.

“You won’t after today.”

“I doubt it.”

“Then take a look at where we are.”

Peridot sat there for a moment, staring Jasper in the face with a blank expression.

Jasper huffed. “Right. Glasses. Sorry.”

Peridot sighed, squinting her eyes and attempting to take a look around. It was . . . bright, and loud, and breezy. She could hear car horns and busy streets, while blurry outlines of people crossed by on crowded sidewalks.

Peridot immediately began to feel dizzy and disoriented. She shut her eyes tight and rubbed at her temples, trying to stall an upcoming headache.

“Are we in the city?”

“Mhm.” Lapis voiced, eyeing Peridot with concern. “Jasper’s idea. Do you need some aspirin or something?”

“Yeah. Do you have any?”

“Um. . . no.”

“Then why did you offer it!?”

“I don’t know! I was just asking!”

 _“Ughhh.”_ Peridot groaned, covering her face in her hands again. “Why in the stars are we here?”

“Because you need to relax and have some fun.” Jasper stated. “And there’s gotta be _something_ in this big fucking place to cheer you up.”

“Oh, right. You brought me to the loudest, most obnoxious place on Earth while I’m blind and injured. Thanks a lot. This is just what I needed.”

Jasper tensed, her hands tightening into fists and her eyes narrowing. “Jesus Christ! I know you had a shit thing just happen to you but you don’t gotta be such an ass about it! Either you stop being such a stuck up little prick and have some fun, or we’ll go right back to campus, and you’ll go right back to sitting in Diamond’s classroom!”

Peridot bit her lip, lowering head a little as a look of guilt crossed over her face.

Jasper sighed, looking over to Lapis. “Alright, how about this. Me ‘n Peridot will stay here, and Peridot can lay down in the car for a bit longer. Lapis, you head out and find someplace with aspirin, and maybe someplace with eye stuff. They’ve gotta have something like that here for her.

Lapis looked out at the busy sidewalks, then back to Jasper, raising an eyebrow.

Jasper rolled her eyes. “Just do it. She’s gonna be miserable the whole time if you don’t.”

“Why do you get to stay back?”

Jasper grinned, interlacing her fingers together and cracking her knuckles.

“It’s the city. I’ve gotta make sure no one breaks into the car.”

“. . .Okay. I’ll go. I’ll call you when I’m on my way back.”

“Gotcha.”

“Just stay put here.”

“Uh huh.”

“Keep Peridot comfortable.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Lapis frowned, looking at the two of them before walking off, quickly disappearing within the sea of pedestrians.

“. . . Well, I’m gonna go look around.” Jasper stated, walking away from the car and abandoning Peridot on the hood.

Peridot shot Jasper a look of disbelief, watching as she began to walk away.

“H-hey!! I thought you were gonna stay with me!”

Jasper pivoted, turning around and walking backwards, now able to stare and grin at Peridot as she walked away. “You told me at breakfast you weren’t a little kid! Therefore, you don’t need a babysitter!”

“B-but what if someone breaks into the car!?”

“No one’s gonna break into your shitty car! There’s nothing inside it that anybody would want!”

Peridot watched Jasper nervously, looking back from her to the car a few times before groaning, jumping off the hood and running to catch up.

Jasper smiled, turning to walk facing forward once again. Casually strolling alongside her shorter friend.

“You’re a jerk.”

“Yeah yeah . . . So, just how bad _is_ your eyesight?”

“We’ll, my eyesight is near sided. I’m about a negative three in my left eye and a negative two in my right eye. It’s not the worst eyesight, but I still can’t see things too well, especially things that are short distance head of me or further.”

“How about in words. Not numbers.”

Peridot rolled her eyes, taking a few minutes to explain to Jasper which objects were and weren’t blurry to her, using signs and buildings as examples.

“So, what do you wanna do?” Peridot eventually asked.

“Whatever it is you wanna do. We’re here to cheer _you_ up after all.”

Peridot seemed to shrink a little at that statement. She looked off to the side, trying to deflect and ignore any thoughts of Jaune that began racing into her mind. She scoffed and kicked at the ground.

“I’ve never walked around in the city before! I don’t know what there is to do here!”

“They’ve gotta have some kinda techy store for you here. You wanna look for something like that?”

“Do you know how much technology costs? If anything, it’ll just make me feel worse walking through one of those stores. I can’t afford that kind of stuff.”

“Yeesh. Okay okay. How about something smaller? Like clothes or something? You like clothes.”

Peridot seemed to perk up at that, giddily grabbing at Jasper’s arm.

“Yeah!  Let’s go do that!”

* * *

 

Jasper impatiently tapped her foot on the ground.

Well, more like _‘stomped’_ her foot on the ground, creating a loud thudding noise as passerbys came and went throughout the changing rooms. Needless to say, she was getting some odd looks her way, and the occasional glare.

 “C’mon out, Dot! It shouldn’t take you ten minutes to change your fucking shirt!”

“I’m coming, I’m coming! Some of these don’t fit right! Just give me another minute, _geez._ ”

Jasper rolled her eyes. “Oh, don’t be like that. You know I’m just _dying_ to see how cute you look in something new.” She said, sarcasm heavy in her voice.

“Shut up. Why don’t you find something to try on too?” Peridot said, throwing another shirt on top of the others, a small shirt pile beginning to form on the floor of the changing room.

“Can’t. I’m spending my money on you today.”

“. . . You really don’t have to do that.”

Jasper sighed, sitting up from the uncomfortable changing room bench. “Yeah, I do. Now are you gonna let me see you in somethin’ new or not?”

“I just need a minute!”

Jasper scoffed, walking up to Peridot’s changing room and throwing open the curtain, stepping inside and closing it again.

“So, which one do you li-“

Jasper stopped herself, staring over Peridot in slight surprise.

Peridot stood, staring back at Jasper with a mixed expression of panic and worry, plus a little pinch of annoyance. She was topless, but stood holding one of her new shirts in her arms. Her back and shoulders looked scratched and irritated, most likely due to the fragments of glass shards that stuck onto her original clothing. The mirrors worked to give Jasper a decent all-around view of her body, which better showed off the minor bruising to her wrist and collarbone. Although, the ones around her collarbone looked a little . . . weird. Maybe they were. . .

Oh . . .

_Ew . . ._

Well, fuck that.

Moving on.

Even though Jasper could see it before, the minor makeup-covered marks and bruising on Peridot’s face seemed to pop out more alongside the other small injuries. And although she couldn’t see it, Jasper knew that the bump on the back of Peridot’s head was probably the only really troubling injury out of all of them.

“. . . Okay, this is serious. We need to talk about what happened.”

“We don’t need to-“

“Look at your fucking body Peridot! We’re not just gonna see you like this and flat out ignore it!”

“Well what do you want me to do!? Explain in graphic detail what happened!?”

“. . . _Maybe!_ Yeah! Doesn’t everyone need to talk out their issues or something?!”

“. . . You say that as if you’ve never had to talk out your issues before.”

“I haven’t . . . I just **_work_** them out, y’know?” Jasper said, flexing one of her arms with a grin.

Peridot frowned, sliding the shirt over her head and covering up the marks on her body. “Well . . . you should. You should talk to me about something if you need to, like Lapis, or school or. . . whatever.” Peridot said, trailing off and tending to the mess of clothing on the floor, separating the clothes she liked from the other ones.

Jasper sighed, leaning up against the wall and waiting for Peridot to finish up. She looked off into one of the mirrors, studying her appearance and the several little objects hanging around the changing room.

Well, if this conversation wasn’t going to happen, then she might as well try somethin' else. Probably what Garnet would tell her to do . . .

“We left campus- what? Yesterday morning? It seems a lot longer than that. Y’know?”

“Yeah.” Peridot replied shortly, slipping her new shirt back off again, grabbing her original clothes off of the wall hook.

“Lapis has been talkin’ about dying her hair blue. Maybe she can find a place to get it done up here?”

“Yeah, she’s been talking about it for months.” Peridot stated, her mood still seeming to be thrown off by the previous conversation. She picked up the few items of clothing she wanted, in which Jasper promptly took into her own hands and carried out of the changing room, Peridot trailing behind.

“. . . So, where do you wanna go after this?” Peridot asked.

“Uh . . . we could get some food? Go sightseeing?”

* * *

 

“. . . I can’t see it.” Peridot complained.

Jasper sighed, kneeling down on the ground.

“Get on.”

“What?”

“Get on my shoulders. So you can see.”

Peridot opened her mouth to protest, but only ended up sighing. She’d had enough of resisting Jasper today. She pushed aside her embarrassment and climbed onto Jasper’s back.

Jasper stood up, elevating Peridot into the air and above the crowd, allowing her to see past the hoard of people and over to the street performers, who were currently performing some sort of . . . either magic or music act? Whatever it was, it looked pretty neat.

Jasper managed to push her way past a few people, inching her way towards the front so that Peridot could see better.

Peridot squinted her eyes, finally managing to get a decent, slightly less blurred view of the performance, gasping with excitement as she watched.

“Jasper!! Look at that one!! Look at what that guy’s doing!!!” she said excitedly, gripping ahold of Jasper’s hair in one hand, the other one outstretched and pointing to a particular performer.

Jasper winced, squeezing one of Peridot’s legs in response to the pain, letting out a low laugh. “Haha, how about you ease up on the hair tugging there, champ?”

Peridot either ignored the request or didn’t hear it, since one hand remained balled in a tight fist around a clump of Jaspers hair, and the other was up in the air, pointing out different colors of props and different actions of people.

Jasper sighed, perking up a little once she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. She pulled it out, tapping on the screen to see an incoming call from Lapis.  Jasper smiled and answered the call, pressing the phone up against her ear.

“Hey, it’s about time you called. You get lost or somethin’?”

“Where the hell are you guys?”

“Watchin’ some street performers. Where are you?”

“Where do you think? I’m back at the car.”

“You get the stuff?”

“I got the asprin. I also found some reading glasses. I’m not sure if those will work or not, but it’s the only thing I could find. Geez, they have almost everything here except for gas-station basics. You have no idea how long it took me to find these.”

“Yeah yeah. So, let’s make up a new meeting place. I honestly don’t know how to get back to the car. . .”

* * *

 

Well, this was where they were supposed to meet up with Lapis.

Currently, the two of them were located on a boardwalk, separating Empire City from the sea. It looked incredibly pretty, with skyscraper lights and sunset reflecting off it’s surface.

Huh. Maybe they could’ve gone swimming, Jasper thought. They’d always had fun doing that before. Peridot wouldn’t have needed her glasses. Maybe the waves could’ve soothed her headache, and given her sore body a bit of a break.

Jasper frowned, turning to look over at Peridot.

She seemed . . . content. She was staring at the water, arms hanging over the railing, and a smile on her face. Her new dark green jacket she wore ruffled up in the breeze. The makeup had rubbed and worn away, and pink, puffy markings were made visible once again. But, she was happy, at least.

Jasper smiled, turning to her gaze back to the water.

At least she could help her forget for a little while.

Jasper’s thoughts disappeared once she felt pressure on her arm, looking down to see Peridot’s head resting against her, one of her arms slung around her waist in a half-hug.

“. . . Thanks.”

Jasper snickered, ruffling Peridot’s hair.

“Don’t get the wrong idea here, shorty. I’m helping you. I’m not falling in love with you.”

Peridot immediately retracted her arm, her face turning pink as she threw Jasper’s hand off of her head. “ _Ew_! Gross gross _gross_! I didn’t mean it like that!”

Jasper laughed, pushing Peridot’s head back onto her shoulder.

Peridot didn’t fight it.

“. . . You’re the worst.” she mumbled, putting her arm back around Jasper, and slowly shifting into a full hug, pressing her face against Jasper’s stomach.

It was Jasper’s turn to look flustered. Red-faced, she smiled and offered Peridot a gentle pat on the back, letting out a small laugh. “Yeah? Well you’re a nerd.”

.   .   .

“. . . Thank you.” Peridot repeated, pulling away and putting her hands back onto the railing.

“It’s no problem. . . I’m always here.”

“. . . I know.”


	27. Rainy Roads

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> asoftmurmur.com :)

 

This wasn’t the first time Peridot had been woken up in the middle of the night. There were a lot of little things that had pulled her out of sleep before, like loud college students in neighboring dorms; Jasper watching TV at two in the morning; the occasional call or text message from her dad or work; but each of these things were pretty mundane and routine. So, needless to say, waking up in the backseat of her car to Lapis towering over her, face to face with very little distance in-between, was pretty fucking new, and freaky, and not to mention just flat out _weird_.

Lapis was in a rather odd position on top of that. Her legs were still in the front part of the car, but she was outstretched into the backseats, one arm reaching out and resting on top of a headrest, allowing her to lean down and hover over Peridot’s face.

“ _Psst. Peridot_.”

“I swear if you fall on me I’m going to fucking scream.”

“What? No. Peridot. It’s raining.”

Peridot furrowed her eyebrows, the sound of heavy rain suddenly being picked up by her senses.

_A flash of lightening._

_A rumble of thunder._

_Two flashes of lightening._

_Jasper’s snoring._

Geez, it was a full-blown storm out there.

Peridot went to sit up, and Lapis awkwardly tried to move out of the way, climbing into the backseat alongside Peridot.

Usually, Peridot would be annoyed by being woken up at night, especially for something as trivial as rain, but this was an exception. This was something that the two of them always did. It was their tradition, in a way.

Rain was one of those things that Lapis and Peridot both felt comfort in. It was one of those things that they felt the need to enjoy together. And they did. Whenever it rained, the two would get a drink and sit near the window to watch the rain for a little while. Sometimes they talked, sometimes they didn’t, sometimes they went for a walk, sometimes they fell asleep.

Peridot was about to look underneath the car seats for her umbrella, but noticed that Lapis had made herself rather comfortable in the seat next to her.

So, they would sit this time.

That was fine. Peridot had walked around enough today with Jasper anyways. Her legs needed a little break.

Peridot sat back in her seat, staring out the window and waiting for another flash of lightening. Her mind wandered over topics to talk about, but she didn’t think of many that were too interesting.

That was fine, too.

Maybe they wouldn’t talk.

They would just relax and fall asleep to the rain.

Peridot closed her eyes again, drifting into a half-sleepy state of mind, listening to the heavy pittering of rain on the car.

. . .

. . . . .

Peridot was jolted awake again by the feeling of water on her hand. She sat up straight, her first thought being that the window had been rolled down or cracked open.

She turned her head to see Lapis, red faced and teary-eyed, staring down at her.

Oh.

. . . _oh._

Peridot looked down at the teardrops on her skin, then back up to Lapis in concern.

“ _Please don’t turn out like me_. . .” Lapis said, hushed and broken in tone.

“. . .What?”

“I don’t want you to be sad like I was.”

“Lapis-“

“I don’t want you to feel like I did before I met you.”

Before Peridot could speak again, she was pulled into a tight hug. The soft sounds of Lapis’s sobs, Jasper’s snores, and the pelting rain surrounded them.

_A flash of lightening._

_A boom of thunder._

And Lapis held her tighter, burying her face into Peridot’s shoulder, holding her in a protective embrace.

Peridot tried to hug her back, one of her arms having been pinned to her side by Lapis. She used her free arm and wrapped it around Lapis’s shoulders, rubbing her back in an attempt to comfort her.

“I’m . . . I won’t. Don’t worry, okay? You don’t need to worry about it, okay?”

Lapis pulled away. Her tear-stained face looking down at Peridot. She rested a hand on Peridot’s face, her thumb stroking at the marks and bruises.

“. . . I’m sorry I didn’t protect you.”

“You did! Lapis! You-“

“No I **_didn’t!_** I should’ve never let you go talk to her by yourself! I should’ve never let you get into this big mess in the first place! I should’ve done something. I should’ve stopped you. I should’ve- I should’ve- “

“ _This isn’t your fault!”_   Peridot yelled, earning a shocked, teary-eye look from Lapis. Peridot sighed, gently leaning her head back against the window, the cold glass working to sooth the bump on her head.

“It’s _mine_. I let myself get tricked. I let myself go talk to her. I let myself get into this mess. It’s not your fault. It’s not Jasper’s fault, it’s not even Jaune’s fault! It’s _my_ fault! _Okay?”_ Peridot said, looking down at the car floor with a guilty look on her face. She forced down the lump in her throat, holding back brimming tears. “I . . . I’m the one who dragged you guys into this. I need to. . . take some responsibility for this. . . I’m sorry, Lapis. . . “

Lapis looked at Peridot in disbelief. At a loss for words, she brought her knees up to her chest, leaning hear body against the car seat.

“. . . I guess were all a little to blame for this whole thing.”

Peridot bit her lip, wanting to restate that Lapis and Jasper had done all they could. If she wasn’t so tired, she might have of gone around in circles, bickering over who was to blame. But, she was, so she didn’t.

“. . . Yeah. I guess we are. . . “

_A rumble of thunder._

_A crack of lightening._

Lapis looked over at Peridot, who’s head was turned to the front of the car, staring out the rain-blurred windshield.

The car became illuminated by the occasional flash of white lightening, along with the soft glow of purple and orange city lights.

In a perfect world, or in a perfect movie, this would be the ideal setting for Lapis to talk over her feelings with Peridot. To kiss her. To being a new type of relationship with her, one far better than the one she had with her ex and her mother, and the one Peridot had with Jaune. One that would help each of them to move on and be happy.

But. . . she couldn’t.

She could still remember how it felt to get out of her abusive situation. How it felt to not be okay with the idea of being so close to another person. She couldn’t tell exactly how Peridot had been feeling ever since the event, because so far, she had refused to talk about it. But, if it was anything similar to her own experiences, then Peridot needed a little time before she would feel okay with something like that.

But Jesus Christ this was the perfect setting.

 _In the backseat of a car._ _Together. (mostly) Alone. Heavy rain. City lights. Peridot staring out the window._ It was such a comforting setting and such a perfect place to do it all.

Lapis was nearly about to rip her hair out at how much she wanted to just lean in and do it.

But she wasn’t going to.

Instead, she was going to lie back down, and listen to the rain.

She watched Peridot’s smaller form in the space besides her. She watched as her eyes slowly started to droop, her breathing became even, and her body drifted into a light sleep for the third time that night.

Lapis, on the other hand, wasn’t as tired, and figured that she would spend the entire night watching the rain. It wasn’t the first time she’d gone a night without sleeping, and it probably wouldn’t be her last. Mild fits of insomnia mixed with wandering thoughts and a variety of other life issues tended to keep her up at night.

And that was fine, for the most part.

Sometimes, Peridot would stay up when it rained as Lapis drifted to sleep.

Sometimes, like in this case, it was the opposite situation.

Sometimes it was both of them.

Sometimes it was neither of them.

It was just another part of their routine.

And Lapis hoped that their routine would last for a long, long time.

But then again, this wasn’t a perfect world.

And hopefully nothing would mess this up for them.


	28. Dinner Date - The Sequel

The next morning, the three had agreed that this would be their last day in the city before heading back. They spent the majority of their time driving around, sightseeing, and stopping at small stores and tourist attractions.

Being pressured into it, Lapis had gotten her hair dyed a dark blue color, Jasper had gotten her hair trimmed up to her mid-back, and Peridot was sporting her new clothes from the day before.

For the most part, all three of them were much more cheerful than they were the day before. Especially Peridot, who became extremely giddy once the afternoon came around, and she explained to her friends that she had a surprise for them.

So, that's where they were now, standing on the sidewalk outside a large building, a chilly afternoon breeze passing by and wafting the scent of warm food and spices over them.

" _Ta-da!"_ Peridot announced, spreading her arms wide to introduce the two to the building behind her.

"It's a fancy restaurant! I booked us reservations as a thank you gift! You're welcome!"

"Dude, this is a pretty nice lookin' place. You sure you can pay for this?" Jasper asked, staring up at the restaurant in genuine surprise.

"I've been putting a little money aside for this one thing I've been wanting, but I figured that I needed to repay you both in some way. So, this is it!"

"You sure you wanna-" Jasper started.

"They serve alcohol." Peridot interrupted.

"I'm in." Jasper said, pushing the two aside and walking up to the entrance.

Lapis placed a hand on her hip, raising an eyebrow at Peridot. "Is this the money you've been putting away to get that dog we want?"

" _Pfft_. Don't worry about it. We still need to graduate college, get real jobs, _and_ buy a house. _Then_ we can get our dog. That's plenty of time to earn back the money! It just . . . might take us a little bit longer now."

"You know our dog will be dead by the time we pay off our school loans and house mortgage."

" ** _LALALA_** _Shut_ _up_ and get in the restaurant already."

Lapis smiled and rolled her eyes, walking alongside Peridot through the restaurant entrance.

* * *

Peridot squinted her eyes, practically pressing her nose up against the pages of the menu.

"You uh . . . want me to read it off to you?" Lapis asked, smiling and biting back a small laugh.

 _"I'll do it this time._ I just needed it closer to my face, that's all." Peridot stated, using her finger to keep track of the lines of text.

"You look fucking ridiculous." Jasper joked. "Those reading glasses do anything for ya?"

"I'm not farsighted. If anything they just make things look even worse."

"Gotcha. It's probably for the best. You don't look like such a nerd with them on."

"Hey! I'm paying for your meal here! No insults!"

"Yeesh, fine fine." Jasper said, ripping the paper from her straw and sticking it into her drink. "Lapis said your using your dog funds. I got two _**big** _ dogs back at home. You want one of em?"

"No way. Me and Lapis are getting our own dog. Look! We already have one picked out!" Peridot said, giddily pulling her phone out of her pocket and pulling up a website, holding it up for Jasper to see.

Jasper took the phone, staring down at the image of . . . what was probably the smallest fucking dog she'd ever seen. It was orange, brown, white and black in color, and a little informational box at the bottom read out it's name, age, and the location of the shelter it was currently living at.

". . . Pumpkin? You're getting a dog named _Pumpkin_. . .?" Jasper asked, handing the phone back with an amused expression. "That's lame . . . and cliche."

"I like Pumpkin." Lapis stated, blowing the wrapper off of her straw and into Jasper's face. "She's better than your dogs."

" _Hey!_ My dogs are the best fucking dogs around!"

"Didn't you just try to give one of them to us?" Peridot questioned.

"I was _joking!_ I wouldn't trade those big, dumb fur-balls for the world." Jasper said defensively, earning herself a few more jabs and remarks from her friends.

And so, the rest of the evening went by with playful conversation and joking, the three eating and drinking until it was dark outside.

* * *

"If you throw up in the car, I'm not picking it up." Peridot stated, staring down a questionably intoxicated Lapis, whose face was flushed and whose hands were gripped around a cup of bitter-sweet alcohol.

"And I thought I was excited to get some drinking in." Jasper said, a grin spread across her face.

"I'm not drunk, leave me alone." Lapis grumbled, picking up her napkin and beginning to rip little pieces off of it.

"Uh oh, she's getting' defensive. Definitely buzzed at the least." Jasper joked, sharing a laugh between her and Peridot.

". . . Whatever." Lapis said, wadding up her napkin and tossing it to the side. "I'm gonna get one more."

"Uhg, fine, but then I'm paying the bill." Peridot said, getting up from her seat and stretching out. "I'm going to the bathroom. Give the waiter my card if he comes by." She said, handing over her debit card to Jasper.

"Alright, but I'm gonna ask for a dessert to go. I don't wanna have to stop for some crummy gas-station food on the way home."

"Yeah yeah, order what you want." Peridot said, walking off through the aisles of bustling tables and loud conversations.

Lapis pushed her glass over to Jasper, sliding out of her seat.

"I'm going too. Order my drink for me."

"You sure you wanna leave me with your drink? I might cast some freaky voodoo magic love spell over it or some shit."

"I'm already giving you a date. Don't push it." She threatened, walking off through the restaurant and quickly catching up to Peridot, bumping her knee into a chair or two along the way.

"Oh, Lapis, I- uh. Are you okay?" Peridot questioned, watching as Lapis lost her footing and stumbled, nearly falling over.

" _Yeah. Just a little fuzzy._ " She mumbled, regaining her posture and carefully walking over to Peridot.

Peridot nodded, putting an arm around Lapis's waist and helping her along the way.

"You can splash some water on your face in the bathroom." she suggested.

"Mhm . . ."

* * *

"I'll meet you back at the table." Lapis stated, shutting off the sink and throwing some wet paper towels into the trash can.

"Okay. You sure you don't need any help?" Peridot asked from behind one of the stall doors.

"I'm good, thanks." Lapis called back, pushing open the door and walking back out into the chatter-filled restaurant.

_The first thing to greet her eyes was a bob of blonde hair across the room. A woman sitting at the bar, nursing a glass of wine. Little yellow jewels weakly glimmering in the dim overhead lighting. A puffy, makeup-caked cheek and an expression of exhaustion and frustration. She looked . . . deep in thought._

Lapis nearly threw up.

Silently, she backed up into door, retreating back into the white-tiled room and leaning against the wall. She covered her mouth. Her face turned red.

_Why the fuck was she here?_

_Was it a coincidence? Did she follow them? Did she-?_

"Lapis?"

_Peridot._

"I thought you went back to- . . . Are you . . . feeling alright? Are you going to puke?"

 _Peridot_.

_She couldn't let her . . ._

_She couldn't let that happen again._

_She couldn't let Jaune take her away again._

_It wasn't fair._

_Why did it have to be her?_

_Why the hell did it have to be . . ._

"Lapi-"

Within a flurry of drunken, emotional thoughts, Lapis turned to Peridot, glaring down at her with an expression of anger and fear. She couldn't think straight, but she sure as hell could feel. She felt her heart beating faster than it should be. She felt her face turn hot with anger. She felt . . . She felt . . .

_Possessive._

_Jealous._

_Like she could kill that yellow manipulator._

Peridot shifted uncomfortably underneath her gaze, looking around the bathroom for any sign of what Lapis was so upset over, eventually looking back up to her, confusion and worry on her face.

"Um. . . Did you- . . . ?"

Within the span of a second, Peridot was off the ground and pushed on top of the sinks, Lapis holding her down by her thighs.

Peridot was too surprised to do anything at first, taking a few seconds before her mind finally caught up with her and the situation. She looked at Lapis, befuddled and awkwardly trying to push her hands off of her legs, leaning her face away from Lapis's and against the mirror.

" _Hey!_ What the heck are you- **_LAPIS_** _-!"_

Before Peridot could finish, Lapis grabbed the back of Peridot's head and pulled it down by her hair, forcing Peridot to look straight up at her.

Peridot stared back, eyes wide in panic and confusion. She scanned Lapis's face for . . . for something. . . for some sort of sign that she was joking. For some sort of sign that she was sober. For some sort of sign that she was still Lapis.

". . . _You're drunk_ . . . " Peridot managed to croak, her voice strained by the pain stinging at the back of her scalp.

". . . _You're mine_ . . . She's not going to fucking touch you again. . ."

Lapis pressed her mouth against Peridot's in a warm, sloppy kiss, earning herself a few kicks and muffled protests from Peridot. She could feel Peridot's hands, frazzled and frustrated, pushing away Lapis's face in an attempt to speak.

"Wait! Hey- _mmf!_ Lap- _mm! **Stop!"**_

Peridot's protests were garbled in Lapis's ears. She pulled Peridot closer to her, pressing herself against her and forcing Peridot's face in one place, knocking her hands away whenever she tried to protest.

_**SLAM!** _

" ** _Guys!_** Jaune is-"

. . .

. . . . . .

 _". . .What the **fuck** is going on?" _ Jasper asked, one hand propping open the bathroom door.

Lapis turned around to face Jasper, her heart beating a mile a minute in her chest.

Oh God.

Oh **_fuck._**

Oh _**fucking God.**_

She couldn't think of what to say.

Hell, she couldn't fucking think at all.

In that moment, she blanked out.

But, her mouth opened.

". . . Is . . . is the meal payed for?"

Jasper looked at Lapis, her expression of anger and hurt softening into confusion, if only for a moment.

"The what? _**Forget about the meal!** **Jaune is here** and **you're** doing **this!"**_

 _ **"Did you pay. For the meal."** _ Lapis demanded, letting go of Peridot, who awkwardly slid herself off the counters, back away from Lapis and Jasper towards the stalls.

 ** _"No_** _. I haven't payed for the **fucking** meal yet. Here's the card." _ She said, throwing it at Lapis and managing to hit her in the arm with it.

Lapis glared back at her, kneeling down and swiping the card off the floor.

"Take Peridot to the car. Ill pay for it."

". . . Fine. Whatever."

Jasper brushed past Lapis, over to the stalls and over to Peridot, grabbing Peridot's wrist in a surprisingly gentle hold, despite her angry demeanor. She dragged Peridot across the bathroom and over to the door in silence, the only sound being the harsh echo of Jasper's footsteps that bounced off the tile and rang in all of their ears.

Peridot didn't fight it. She didn't say anything. She didn't look at Lapis.

And within a moment, Lapis was all alone. Debit card in her hand and swimming thoughts and emotions in her skull.

She pushed it all out of her head.

She wasn't going to think about it right now.

Because she couldn't process it right now.

She shakily stood up, pushed open the door, and began her walk back to the table, arriving to see a very concerned looking waiter.

"Oh! _There you are._ Thank goodness, I thought we had a dine and dash on our hands, haha!" The waiter smiled at Lapis, who only stared back with an empty gaze. The man quickly became uncomfortable, averting his eyes away from Lapis. " . . . Will that be all for you, mam?"

Lapis nodded, handing Peridot's debit card over to the waiter without a word. He took the card, quickly running off to go process it.

Lapis stood there for a moment before looking over at the table, her drink and Jasper's dessert sitting among the piles of dirty dishes and cups. She looked across the room at the bar, then back at her drink. She walked over and grabbed a napkin, looking around for something to write with.

Luckily, the waiter was back within the minute, handing Lapis the card and thanking her for dining at the restaurant.

"Give me your pen."

"Pardon?"

"I need to borrow your pen." Lapis repeated, waiting as the waiter fumbled in his pockets, handing over a pen to Lapis, who quickly scribbled something onto her napkin. After she was satisfied, she handed the waiter back his pen, along the napkin and her drink.

"You see that woman over there?" Lapis asked, pointing the waiter in the direction of the bar, over to Jaune.

"Blonde one. I can't finish my drink. I want you to give it to her, on me."

"Oh, sure. Will that be all?"

"The napkin, too."

"Ah, of course." the waiter said, nervously distancing himself from Lapis before making his way through tables and customers.

Lapis watched as he walked off, turning her attention back to the table. She pickied up Jasper's dessert, rubbing the rims of the plate with her thumbs.

. . .

. . . . . .

_This was definitely going to ruin their routine._


	29. Crumbling Down & Staying Steady

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am a lazy, lazy person who’s been really busy with college and life stuff, but I’m gonna fucking finish my cruddy story. We’ve only got seven chapters left, let's hope they turn out alright. 
> 
> Thank you for anyone who decided to check in to read this. I COMPLETELY understand if you became disinterested, aren't too fond of the story anymore, or if the waits in between chapters were just too long. I'm so, so sorry that I've neglected this for so long.

 

“I’ll drive.” Jasper stated, stepping into the driver’s seat before Peridot could do so much as respond.

Peridot frowned, getting into the passenger’s seat and shutting the door, leaning back with an overwhelmed expression resting on her face. She didn’t seem to be upset, just . . . deep in thought.

Jasper took a quick look at Peridot before turning away, staring out the window at the restaurant entrance, waiting for Lapis. However, it only took her a few seconds to become bored of that, and instead, she busied herself with getting the car up and running, the heat turned on, and the radio switched over to a decent station.

In stressful situations, such as this one, Jasper _needed_ to be active. She needed to distract her mind by doing something, whether it be jogging, running, weightlifting, or just tossing a ball around. Whatever. Just _anything_ other than sitting down and doing _nothing_ , which is what Lapis tended to do. It drove Jasper up the wall, too. When under stress, Lapis’s go to relief was to sleep, Peridot’s was to either rant or mope, and Jasper’s was to exercise. It’s not like she could just up and run around where they were now, though. So unfortunately, driving was as active as she was going to get.

It made her skin fucking crawl, being cooped up in this little car.

So you bet your ass she was gonna drive over the speed limit.

“ . . . Hey. You alright?” Jasper asked, looking over at a now startled Peridot, who looked as if she was thinking a mile a minute. She shut her eyes for a moment to gather her thoughts, and after opening them again, a look of confusion settled over her face.

“Are _you_ okay? You’re kinda twitchy.”

Jasper shot Peridot a confused look of her own, suddenly becoming aware of her fingers fidgeting over the steering wheel, her leg bouncing up and down, the overall feeling of discomfort she was experiencing.

“. . . Yeah. I’m fine.” Jasper grumbled, her attention now directed out the window again. Eventually, she watched as Lapis walked out the main doors, carrying something white in her hands. Jasper strained her eyes to see what it was, a look of bewilderment on her face once she realized what she was holding. Lapis was carrying out Jasper’s forgotten dessert in her hands, fork, plate, and everything.

_. . . What the fuck?_

_Was she even allowed to do that?_

_Didn’t any of the staff **try** to stop her?_

_Did they even give a shit?_

_. . ._

_Whatever._

_It’s wasn’t like Jasper hadn’t stolen her fair share of glasses from the bar before._

Jasper waited until Lapis had made her way up to the car. She rolled down the window, looking down at the dessert, then back up at Lapis.

“. . . So, did that hair dye somehow seep into your skull, or are you still drunk off your rockers?”

Lapis didn’t respond. She stood with an exhausted expression on her face, holding out the plate to Jasper. She looked tired of thinking. She looked tired of _everything_.

“. . . Do you want it or not?” Lapis asked.

Jasper stared at her for another moment or two, analyzing her expression. She could tell that Lapis was guilty and upset, but it didn’t make Jasper any less angry. It didn’t make her any less fidgety. It didn’t make her any less . . .

Jasper sighed. This wasn’t about how she felt. This was about Lapis and Peridot. She could be angry about her own damn emotions later.

Jasper took the plate from Lapis, setting it on her lap and rolling the window back up.

Lapis got into the backseat, and the three drove off.

* * *

Well, the whole ‘being angry later’ thing just didn’t seem to work out. . .

Peridot was certain that this car was going to be her death bed. Her final resting place. She wasn’t going to die from old age. She wasn’t going to die from disease. Hell, even Jaune wouldn’t get the chance to try and kill her. No, she was going to die in her shitty little car, in the middle a screaming match with her best friends, as Jasper drove them off of a cliff, or into a truck, or into anything else nearby that would certainly kill them upon impact.

_Jesus Christ, when was the last time Jasper looked at the road? Or the goddamn speed limit?_

_Why hadn’t they gotten pulled over yet?_

“ _Y’know!_ That kiss was kind of a dick move to do to me back there!!” Jasper yelled, her knuckles turning white from her tight grip on the steering wheel. She abruptly turned down the road, jerking the three passengers against the doors and windows of the car.

“What!? You fucking _asked_ me to do it!!” Lapis shouted back, readjusting her seat belt after being nearly choked by it from the rough driving.

“You guys kissed!?!?” Peridot exclaimed, hands wrapped tightly around the grab handle, desperately trying to avoid falling over or banging her head against the window. 

“I was just joking around!” Jasper retaliated. 

“ _So was I!_ ”

“Well it was still shitty of you to do anyways!”

“That’s of load of crap!”

“Would one of you please explain-!!!” Peridot tried to interject, being ignored and over-shouted by her friends once again.

“Oh, really!? Well you know what else is a load of crap!? The way you always have your hands all over Peridot!”

“Just **_shut up!!”_** Lapis screamed.

“Jasper-!” Peridot tried once more, but to no avail.

“Why!? You said it yourself that she lets you do whatever you want to her! Don’t you think you’re being the manipulative one here!? Jesus Christ, Lapis! If I hadn’t walked into the bathroom-”

“I wasn’t **_trying_** to be manipulative! I didn’t **_mean_** to! I didn’t **_want_** to hurt her! You **_KNOW_** that!!”

Lapis grabbed onto the back of Peridot’s seat, leaning over her shoulder with a look of desperation on her face.

“You know I didn’t mean to, _right?_ I’m sorry Peridot, I’m _really, really_ sorry!”

“I-“ Peridot started, looking startled but eager to finally get a word in, but Jasper cut her off again.

“Well if you’re so _sorry_ then why did you do it?”

“I was _upset_! I was _drinking_! I was _panicked_! Jaune was there and-“

“And what? She was going to get her greedy little hands all over Peridot before you?”

**_“Why are you giving me such a hard time about this!?”_ **

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe it’s because you-!“

“ ** _Shut up!_** **_JASPER!_** **_LAZULI! JUST! BE! QUIET!_** ”

Peridot stared down the two of her friends, red faced and angry. They both quieted down fairly quick.

Jasper looked beyond frustrated. Her jaw was tight and her grip on the steering wheel was even tighter. Peridot could tell that she had a lot more to say, but was holding back.

Lapis looked. . . shocked, hurt, upset. . . Peridot couldn’t exactly figure it out at first, but then it hit her like a ton of bricks.

Oh, **_shit._**

“I-I meant _Lapis_! Not Lazuli! **_Urrg_** _!_ _You know what I meant!”_

Lapis didn’t respond. She sat back in her seat and turned onto her side, looking as if she just wanted to disappear.

Jasper didn’t comment, or try to start the fight back up again. She let out a breath, focused her attention on the road, and gradually slowed down to a less reckless speed limit.

Peridot shut her mouth tightly. She looked at both of her friends, who both looked as upset and defeated as she did. Peridot slumped over in her seat, and rested her forehead in her hands.

She could feel another headache coming on.

* * *

 

Peridot was woken up by Jasper shaking her shoulder.

“ _Psst_. _Hey_. _Peridot_. _Wake up_.”

“Uhggg. . . Are we back?” Peridot asked groggily, sitting up in her seat. She let out a small hiss of pain after discovering an ache in her neck, rubbing it roughly with her thumbs.

_Stupid car seats. Not meant to sleep in. Stupid. . ._

Jasper pressed her finger against her lips, responding in a hushed voice.

“No. But I need you awake for this.”

“For _what?”_   Peridot whispered back.

“For this.” Jasper said, pointing out the window to an automatic car wash.

“. . . What-?“

“Just watch.” Jasper whispered, a grin on her face as she pulled the car forwards, stretching an arm out the window to click on the car wash options and insert her debit card.

Peridot watched Jasper for a moment before turning around in her seat, taking a look at Lapis, who was curled up against the car door, fast asleep.

Peridot turned back around. “Lapis is-“

“ ** _Shh!_** That’s the _point!”_ Jasper angrily whispered, pulling her arm back in and driving the car into the small building. After a moment of waiting, a large, plastic door came down behind them, and the car began to move forwards on it’s own.

Peridot looked out the window, watching as giant machines came down, drenching the car in water and multicolored soap, working until each and every window of the car was consumed in foamy green, blue, and pink bubbles, leaving the three in a muffled, colorful, dark world.

Peridot looked over at Jasper, who was sitting with her arms behind her head and a smug grin on her face. Before Peridot could bother to ask another question, there was a loud **_THUMP_** on the car windows, giant shreds of cloth beginning to smear in the soap and water against the glass.

As soon as the cloth hit the car, Jasper slammed her fist down on the car horn and started screaming.

Which prompted Peridot to start screaming.

Which woke up Lapis, and, upon seeing nothing but blocked out windows, a dark blur colors, and **_things_** moving around the car, began to scream bloody murder. Her voice slowly quieting down as soon as she realized that Jasper was laughing, the reality of the situation slowly beginning to dawn on her.

**_“WHAT THE FUCKING HELL, JASPER!?!?”_ **

Jasper couldn’t quite find it in herself to stop laughing long enough to give Lapis a proper response. Instead, she continued to laugh, occasionally sputtering out a word or two in an attempt to talk.

Peridot clutched her shirt in vice grip, sliding down in her seat until she was almost on the floor, letting out disgruntled noises as she did so.

The car was eventually sprayed with another dose of water, and pushed forward towards the exit, where giant machines blew it dry and muffled the sounds of Jasper’s laughter.

Jasper soon calmed down, gaining enough composure to drive the car out of the wash, getting it back onto the road.

“C- c’mon. You deserved that.”

Lapis looked ready to start another argument, but after a moment’s hesitation, she sighed, leaning back in her seat, arms crossed.

“. . . Okay fine. Maybe I did.”

Jasper let out one last laugh before calming down, smiling as she drove.

Lapis couldn’t help but feel a little bit better, as if this little prank had somehow made up for what she did . . . at least a little? Maybe? . . . Okay, not really, but it did work well in lightening the overall mood in the car.

“. . . So, how long until we get back?” Lapis asked.

“ ‘Bout a half hour.”

“Mm . . . “

Finally, the air around the three of them felt lighter, and no one was angry or arguing. However, things still hadn’t been resolved yet, not by a long shot. Lapis still needed to talk things out with Peridot, and afterwards, she needed to talk with Jasper, too.

But for now, things had at least calmed down.

Things were steady.


	30. Friendship Dates

Peridot plopped down onto her bed, relieved to feel her body sink into the puffy bed sheets, the soreness from sleeping in the car now more apparent than ever.

The three had gotten back to campus a little while ago, and Jasper was quick to be in and out the door to get to work. Lapis had debated on just laying down in her dorm and sleeping forever, however, she had way too much homework piled up from the past few days, and so, she took her computer and some textbooks into Peridot and Jasper's dorm, intending to get some work done alongside Peridot. 

This was something that they did often, heading over to each other's dorms to study and work. However, Lapis wasn't sure if she should be doing this, or if she should just be giving Peridot her space for a little while. She knew that she should probably leave Peridot alone, but at the same time, Lapis was afraid that if she just _avoided_ Peridot after everything that happened, then Peridot would hate her even more. Lapis couldn't bare the thought of Peridot hating her, or avoiding her, or- or-. . . _urrrgggh. Everything fucking sucked right now._ She had already hit rock bottom anyway, she might as well just do what she wanted, considering that things couldn't get any worse.

But, who knows? Maybe this would give them a chance to talk it all over? Lapis hoped that it would, however, the two hadn’t said much to each other since last night, and Peridot simply hadn’t talked much in general since her night with Jaune.

Peridot hadn’t really talked much about the whole “Jaune” event since it happened. She never really explained what her and Jaune had done, or why Jaune had lashed out on her like she did. Peridot just. . . didn’t really feel like talking about her anymore.

No, ever since then, Peridot had felt kind of numb when thinking about her. She figured it was just some sort of shock after the whole thing. Jasper and Lapis were doing a good job at keeping her busy, though. For both good and bad reasons.

The shopping she did with Jasper really did help take her mind off of it, but then Jasper had tried to press for details in the changing room, and Lapis had started crying in the car. Those were just little reminders that they still hadn’t gotten rid of the issue of Jaune. But for now, Peridot had to deal with the issue of Lapis. . . even though, she really, really didn’t want to. She had thought about it enough on the car ride back. She just wanted a break now.

Peridot sat up from her bed, glancing across the room at her computer.

She hadn’t talked to Rose in a while. Should she? Jaune was at the restaurant, so she must have been on her way home. There shouldn’t be any threat of her going back to Beach City again, especially since Peridot had ruined her plans there, but. . . She should probably let Rose know what happened, at the very least. . .

“It’s. . . not like you to be so quiet.” Lapis said, her eyes glazed over as she stared down at her computer screen, fingers typing at a slow pace.

“I can be quiet.” Peridot mumbled, standing up and walking over to her computer seat.

“I’ve known you since high school, Peridot. You literally never stop talking. Ever. About anything.”

“. . . So?”

Lapis couldn't help it. She snapped. She pushed her computer off to the side, her textbook falling off Jasper’s bed and onto the floor. “ _So!?_ So talk to me! _Please!_ About anything! About what happened! About. . . _something!_ I don’t want things to be bad between us!”

Peridot jumped, surprised by the sudden outburst. She looked at Lapis, an upset and overwhelmed expression on her face. “They're not bad, Lapis! I’m not mad at you!” 

“Well you _should_ be! Why won’t you talk!?”

“I’m just-. . . ! I’m just. . . thinking, alright?” Peridot said, deflating a little as she sat down in her chair, slumping over and staring off at the floor.

Lapis calmed down a little, her shoulders beginning to slack. “. . . About what?” 

Peridot looked a bit uncomfortable, crossing her arms over each other, using her foot to gently spin her chair side to side. “About . . . I dunno. _Us_.”

“. . . What about us?” Lapis asked, a touch of panic and concern in her voice.

“About us before. . . this whole thing. Maybe we should have talked to each other more about it.”

 _“It?”_ Lapis asked, starting to look a bit more confused than concerned.

Peridot could feel frustration whelming up inside her, and she gripped her forearms a little tighter. “ _Urrg!_ _You know! **Us!**_ How you feel about me! How Jasper feels about you! I told you before, we all just keep avoiding it! I don’t know! Maybe I should have just given you a chance!”

“. . . What?” 

“Yeah! If I had just gone out with you once back then, or at least _tried_ it, maybe we would’ve been more content or okay now! Or if you had done the same with Jasper. . .  ** _Urrrggh_** _I don’t know!_ I got myself into this whole mess with Jaune! I don’t know how to deal with this kind of thing!”

“. . . Peridot, listen, I-“ 

“ _No._ No wait. . . That might be exactly what we need!  _Yeah!_ This is what we need to move on from this whole awkward mess! It will be like starting all over! That’s it!”

“Peridot-“ Lapis tried again, but to no avail.

Peridot refused to let Lapis finish her thought, a bit of her old self and personality beginning to show through again as she made her way over to Lapis, shoulders squared, back straight, and arms behind her back.

“Okay! Lapis! _A-hem._ Lapis Lazuli. In order to make up for the years of confusion and stress, and in order to move on past yesterday’s events, will you, please, accompany me on a date?”

Lapis stared at Peridot, wide-eyed and at a lack for words. Her face grew hot, and she suddenly found it difficult to maintain eye-contact with her. “. . . Peridot- I don’t think you- I don’t _deserve_ -“

“ _Shh **hHHH!** Sh! Sh!_ Forget about all that! We know what happened and we know it was an accident! You’re sorry and we’re moving past it! Now, will you go on a date with me?”

Lapis sat, staring up at Peridot, unsure of what to say. Not to say that Lapis was unhappy with the request, but she was still harboring an extreme amount of guilt, and not to mention. . .

“I. . . I have a date with Jasper too- I think? I don’t know if she’s still mad-“

“Perfect! That makes things a lot easier! You go on a date with me, Jasper goes on a date with you, we get all those mushy feelings out of us and off to the side, and we can all move on past this!”

“Per-“

“Lapis, please! It’ll make you happy! It’ll make Jasper happy! It’ll help me stop thinking about Jaune! It’ll help us move on past last night! It’s worth a shot!”

“ _Peridot!_ Peridot, I was going to say _fine!_ Let’s do that!” Lapis finally managed to say, a bit of a grin on her face.

“Wait. . . really?”

“Yeah. I mean, things are about as bad as they can be right now, it’s not like we can mess this up any further. . . “

“Right! That’s the spirit! It’s only up from here! Okay! Let’s do this tonight! We’ve got to get back to classes tomorrow, and it’s not even noon yet! There’s plenty of time to plan! And if you and Jasper go first, I’ll have even _more_ time! _Okay okay . . . !"_

Lapis frowned, a bit of doubt starting stir up in her mind. “But- Jasper is still-“

“I’ll talk to Jasper. We’re getting this worked out today whether she likes it or not!”

* * *

 

Well, Peridot had made good on her statement, because here was Jasper, all cleaned up and in a decent looking black tank top, gray jacket, and non-torn up jeans, wallet in hand and ready to head out. Peridot stood beside her, hands on her hips and a proud look on her face, looking back between Lapis and Jasper.

“Look at you two! You look great!”

Lapis tried to give Peridot a genuine smile, despite the overall feeling of discomfort she was experiencing. Her hand was gripped tightly around the fabric of her dark blue dress, her black flats tapping the ground nervously.

“ _Yeaaah_. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome!” Peridot grinned, quickly heading over to the nightstand, beginning to rummage around within the drawers for her wallet and car keys, rambling to herself about her own date with Lapis, and preparations that she still had to make.

Lapis frowned, walking over to Jasper with a guilty expression on her face. “. . . Jasper-“

“Can it. Everything’s fine. Peridot talked to me, and I’m not mad anymore.” Jasper said, a bit of an edge to her voice. Lapis could tell that she was still harboring some negative feelings, but was keeping them bottled up for now.

“. . . Your just gonna sweep everything under the rug? Just like that?” Lapis asked.

“You want me to start yellin’ again?”

“Hell no. . . ”

There was a brief silence between the two, before Jasper quickly eyed Lapis up and down, letting out a small cough and turning away.

“. . . You look good.” Jasper said, turning a little pink in the face. 

“Oh. . . Thanks.” Lapis said, blushing as she turned her attention towards Peridot, who was busy picking out an outfit from her drawers.

“. . . She’s a persistent little shit.” Jasper said, a bit of amusement in her voice.

“Yeah, she is.”

“. . . Good to see her acting more normal, though.”

“I agree. Let’s hope she not faking it.”

“I doubt it. She wears her heart on her sleeve most of the time.”

“I guess you’re right. . .”

“Of course I’m right.” Jasper stated, a grin on her face as she elbowed Lapis in the shoulder.

“ _Pssh, haha.”_ Lapis laughed a little, smiling up at Jasper before Peridot interrupted, physically trying to push to two of them out the door.

“ _Gogogogogogogo GO!_ Have fun! Come back happy or don’t come back at all!”

Lapis smiled and rolled her eyes, walking out the door. Jasper, however, stayed in place, her arms crossed as she started down at Peridot, who was desperately trying to get Jasper to move, but to no avail.

“. . . C’mon you dork. If you can’t get me out the door then I can’t go on my stupid date.”

Peridot stopped, staring up at Jasper with a scowl and labored breathing. She sighed and hung her head down in defeat, simply pointing out the door.

Jasper chuckled, ruffling Peridot’s hair before walking out the door, shutting it behind her.

“. . . So, where are we-?” Lapis started.

“I thought we could do somethin’ simple. Movie, food, walk, y’know, all that good cliché shit.”

“Well. . . if that’s what you wanna do. . .“ Lapis said, doubt in her tone.

“It is.”

Lapis stayed quiet, walking alongside Jasper, a little tenser than before.

“. . . What?”

“I don’t know. I thought you’d be more . . . _enthusiastic_ about this.”

“I’m fuckin’ ecstatic. What are you talking about?”

“Well act like it, then! I’m doing this for you, after all.”

“. . . Yeah, so I’ll get this over and done with quick for ya.”

“. . . What?”

“You don’t wanna be here. You’re just doing this because I pushed you into considering it and Peridot pushed you into doing it.”

“. . . Jasper, I told you I was willing to give this a shot.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t change anything between us.”

“. . . It doesn’t _have_ to. Why do we have to do anything romantic? Why is just hanging out and being close friends not enough?”

“ ** _Because!_**   Because its so- goddamn-  _frustrating!_ Trying to hang out with someone and be happy doing that, but then all you want to do is. . . is . . . is . . .  _more than just that!_ You know? You want to _mean_ more than that! You wanna be- I duuno- more special than that! I just. . . want to. . . be someone special to you.”  Jasper mumbled, her face turning red from embarrassment. She couldn't find it in herself to look Lapis in the face, and she stared off in the other direction, beginning to feel a little too weak and exposed.

Lapis stared up at Jasper in surprise. Moments like this were rare. Jasper rarely _ever_ said things like this, things that were so. . . emotional and personal.

“Jasper, you **_are_ ** someone special to me, but. . . we can . . .  _look_.” Lapis said, taking a hold of Jasper’s hand, finding that her palms were fairly sweaty.

“No matter what happens tonight, or what happens in the future, we’re still going to be friends. We’re still going to care about each other. We don’t always get along- but- I still **_need_** you in my life, alright? You’re. . . you're important to me, Jasper. I like when we hang out. I like talking to you. I don’t . . . isn’t that enough? Whether we kiss or not? Just. . . needing and wanting each other in our lives. . .?”

“ . . . “ Jasper sighed, glancing down at the ground, squeezing Lapis’s hand a little tighter before letting go. “. . . Yeah. I guess. . . when you put it like that. . . I'm sorry, Lapis."

Lapis smiled, linking her arm around Jasper's and tugging her closer. "Don't apologize, you big dork."

" _Hey_." Jasper said, a grin growing on her face as she held Lapis's arm, letting out a deep, genuine laugh. ". . . You should probably apply that whole shpeal to you and Peridot, you know. Probably better to get that all figured out before you go on your date with her. It could’a saved you and her a lot a trouble last night too.”

“. . . Yeah, I know . . .”

“. . . I’m sorry about yellin’ at you in the car. I guess I just. . .  felt real glad that you were giving me a chance, and then you. . .”

“It’s okay. I deserved it.”

“Yeah, you did.”

_”Hey.”_

_“Haha . . ._ So, are we all good now?”

“I hope so.”

“I think we are. . . “

“So, what movie did you want to see?”

* * *

Peridot stared herself in the mirror, brushing a few knots out of her hair and double checking her outfit, which consisted of a dark green button up, black dress pants, and a white bow tie. Double checking to make sure she looked alright, she headed over to her computer and lifted one foot up onto the chair, leaning down and lacing up her shoes.

Soon after, Peridot was distracted by the increasing brightness of her computer screen. Taking a glance at it, the screen brightly asked if she wanted to have a face call with Rose.

_Oh. Right. Rose._

Peridot had nearly forgotten about that. But. . . should she still answer the call? She was pretty busy now with date stuff. . . and talking about Jaune right now was. . . well. . . less than appealing. . .  

Peridot sighed, taking a seat in her chair and accepting the call. She might as well get this over and done with before her date.

“Hey! I was just about to call you!” Peridot said, smiling at the woman on the screen. Rose seemed a bit relived at that statement, and Peridot felt a small pang of guilt. Maybe she should have called her sooner. . . she must've been worried. 

“Oh, good! I was starting to wonder. . . oh, never mind that. Hello, Peridot! How are you?”

“Oh, I’m good, thanks. How uh, how are you?”

“I’m wonderful. I just wanted to call and ask if Jaune was still coming down, or if you had heard any news about her.”

“Uhm. . . about that. . .uhh” Peridot stumbled, mentally trying to figure out how to word this. She _really_ didn't want to talk about Jaune right now, but even if she had to, where on Earth would she begin? “Jaune. . . well I, we. . . it’s kind of a long story. . . A _really_ long story.”

“Oh. . . Well, lucky for you, I _love_ stories.” Rose insisted, looking bright eyed and eager to discuss. She had a warm, understanding smile that welcomed Peridot to take her time and discuss, and she was about to, until she heard the sounds of Jasper and Lapis coming down the hallway.

“Oh stars, um, I’m sorry Rose, I’m kinda busy right now! _Uhhhm_ long story short! Keep an eye on Steven! She was going to do something with him, but I kind of ruined that for her! He should be good now, though!”

_. . . Well, that was one way to summarize it. Probably could have done a better job, but oh well. She was on a time crunch._

Rose went silent, leaving a little pause between them before she responded, a little less cheery than before, and a little more serious.

“. . . Thank you. I will.”

And with that, Peridot shut her laptop closed, just in time for Lapis and Jasper come through the door, laughing and holding a half full bucket of popcorn.

“ _Well well well_ , it looks like you two had a great time!” Peridot beamed, standing up from the chair and grinning over at her friends.

“Eh, the movie sucked, but we have fun throwing pieces of popcorn at the dude in front of us.” Jasper said, a grin on her face as she shoved a fistful of popcorn in her mouth.

“We were asked to leave.” Lapis deadpanned.

“Oh! Well that would explain why your back so early!" Peridot said, giving a quick glance back to her computer before clearing her head of Rose. Onto other things. " _Anyways_ , it’s time for _our_ date!”

“What’s up with the bow tie?” Jasper asked, muffled through the popcorn in her mouth.

Peridot grinned with pride, adjusting her bow tie and motioning down to the rest of her outfit.

“Well, if we’re going on a date then I need to look my best.”

“So, uh, where are we going?” Lapis asked.

“Good question! You’ll just have to come with me and find out!” Peridot said, bolting out the door, leaving Lapis and Jasper to stare at each other in confusion.

After a moment, Peridot peaked her head back in through the door.

“ _Uhhh_. You coming?”

Lapis smiled and shook her head, waving goodbye to Jasper before walking out the door, following Peridot down the hallways, through the building, and out the door.

“I figured that the most romantic place we could go is to a big fancy dinner. However, since I blew all my money on last night’s dinner, I had to improvise.”

“Improvise?”

“Ah-hem! Miss Lapis Lauzi.” Peridot said, bowing and motioning to one of the campuses outdoor tables, out in the middle of the grass. On top of the table were candles, lemonade, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. . . cut into hearts. . . really, really poorly cut hearts.

“ ** _Tada!_** It’s like a picnic, but fancier! Do you like it?” Peridot beamed, staring up at Lapis, eager for her reaction.

“. . . That’s . . . _preeety_ fancy. _Ha ha ha . . . ”_ Lapis couldn’t help but break out into a smile. “Yes, Peridot. It’s nice.”

“Great!” Peridot said, rushing over to the table. Lapis followed behind her, taking a seat in one of the chairs.

“Wait! Stand back up!”

Lapis cocked in eyebrow, standing back up from her seat. Peridot proceeded to walk over to Lapis’s chair, pulling it out a little further and politely gesturing her to sit down.

Lapis laughed and sat back down, to which Peridot attempted to push her back in, struggling to make any sort of progress.

Lapis rolled her eyes with a smile, scooting the chair in herself, allowing Peridot to think she did so on her own.

Peridot smiled in satisfaction, finally taking a seat in the other chair, pouring her and Lapis a plastic cup of lemonade.

“So! How are you? Nice night, isn’t it?”

Lapis let out another small laugh, amused by the whole show Peridot was trying to put on. “It is. But hey, Peridot, you don’t have to try and make this really special, I-“

“Of course it should be special! It’s a date, after all!”

“Peridot, I’m glad that you’re trying to act like your normal self-tonight, but I-“

“Lapis-“

“No Peridot, just listen.” Lapis insisted.

Peridot opened her mouth to interject, but eventually shut it again, folding her hands together and waiting for Lapis to continue.

“I know things have been. . . **_really_ ** stressful lately. I know you’re still hurt over Jaune. I know you haven actually _talked_ to us about how you’ve been feeling lately. And with all of this, and all last night- I – I just wanted to say. . . sorry. I talked with Jasper and I- I really think that I’m okay being just friends. I’m happy you’re in my life and that were friends, and that were close, and that we. . . I don’t _need_ all the physical and romantic stuff. It felt like I did, but I-. . . I’m just happy you’re in my life, okay?”

Peridot sat still for a moment, taking a minute to process everything that Lapis had said. After a moment of looking confused, she looked. . . relived. She smiled and nodded. “ Do you. . . still want to have this date, then?”

“I don’t. . . I don’t know. . . “

“What are you nerds talkin’ about?” Jasper interrupted, leaning over the back of Peridot’s seat.

Peridot screamed, jumping and quickly turning around in her seat. “What the – **_Jasper_** _!? What are you doing here!? We’re **dating**!”_

“Yeah yeah cool it. I just need five bucks from Lapis.”

“What? Why?” 

“We had money issues on our date.” Lapis grumbled, pulling out a bill from her purse and handing it over.

“ _Thaaank you_. So, watcha eatin?”

“You ate at the movie theater! Don’t butt in!” Peridot protested.

“I ate popcorn. That’s not dinner.”

“You eat snacks for dinner all the time!”

“Yeah- but- I’m hungry, so move over.” Jasper said, pulling up a chair and taking a seat, inviting herself into the date. Her arms took up the majority of the table, and pushed a couple candles to the side.

 _“Hey!”_ Peridot shouted, trying to push Jasper's arms away from her side of the table. _"Move it!"_

Jasper ignored Peridot’s shouts, grabbing one of the heart-shaped sandwiches and getting ready to eat it.

 ** _“NO, WAIT!”_** Peridot pleaded, grabbing a hold of Jasper's arm, preventing her from taking a bite.

 _"What?"_ Jasper asked, a bit more annoyed now. She watched as Peridot grabbed the heart sandwich out of her hand, set it onto Lapis's plate, and handed her a regular, square-shaped sandwich instead.

Jasper stared at the food for a moment, then at Peridot's pouting face, before breaking out into a grin. “. . . Fuckin' dork.”

* * *

After the three had eaten their fair share of sandwiches and lemon aid, they decided to take a walk down to the beach, wasting their time and throwing one or two leftover sandwich crusts to the seagulls, making bets on  which bird would get the most bread.

Eventually, the seagulls began to fly close by them, following the three at a close distance. In response, all three took off in a run across the beach, which ended up in Peridot and Jasper racing, and Lapis trailing behind, kicking at the water and enjoying the sunset, occasionally calling out a friendly insult or two at her friends.

" ** _Ahahaha!_**  I thought you told me you were getting stronger!" Jasper teased, purposely running slower so that she could run next to and tease Peridot.

Peridot wheezed, still miserably attempting to get ahead of Jasper. "I _-pant-pant-_ **_AM!_** I’m just _-wheeze-_ not _taller!_ I can't run like you can!"

"Then this is good practice!" Jasper joked, taking off down the beach at a much faster speed, purposely kicking a bit of sand back into Peridot's face.

 ** _"AAAurghhh!"_**   Peridot yelled in frustration, picking up a fistful of sand and throwing it in Jasper's direction, only to have it fly back into her face. She stuck her tongue out to spit out the sand, rubbing her face and making a variety of angry muffled sounds before collapsing back onto the sand, defeated.

Jasper laughed, slowing down her pace and walking back over, staring down at Peridot with a sweaty grin. "Well _-huff-_ shit, haha, you really gave me a workout, dot. I might just have to join ya." Jasper said, turning around so that her back was facing Peridot, slowly letting herself fall onto the ground.

Peridot screamed and rolled out of the way, barely making it in time before Jasper hit the ground with a thud, nearly crushing Peridot underneath her.

Lapis eventually caught up with the two, staring down at them with amusement. 

". . . You two are idiots."

Jasper smirked, grabbing a hold of Lapis's wrist and pulling her down into the sand. Lapis laughed, rolling away from her and closer to the shore. She grabbed and threw a clump of wet sand at Jasper, who, of course, immediately got up to retaliate. Peridot tried her best to steer clear of their mini war, but after getting shot in the face by Jasper, she took Lapis's side, and got in a few good throws. 

After a little while, the three of them called it quits, each of them covered in thick patches of muddy, brown sand.

Lapis was the first to start laughing, and then Peridot, and then Jasper.

"W-what the hell is wrong with us?" Jasper sputtered, collapsing into the sand with laughter, soon followed by her friends.

And they laughed. . . 

And they laughed. . . 

And they. . . 

And they were glad to have each other in their lives. 


	31. What Do You Want?

Lapis slipped on her jacket as she stepped out of the building and into the chilly night breeze, walking a lengthy distance through the school’s parking lot before she arrived at her car. She unlocked it and reached into the backseat for one of her forgotten textbooks, and a pair of sopping wet shoes from her time at the beach earlier that day.

_“. . . **I don’t appreciate the little note you left me.** ”_

At that moment Lapis’s heart seemed to skip a beat. Dropping the items back in the car, she spun around and ended up face to face with Jaune, who stood with a weary, mildly agitated expression. In her hand was a wrinkled-up napkin, the phrase  _“Fuck you”_ written in sloppy handwriting and smudged pen ink.

“I’m assuming this was you. This isn’t Peridot’s handwriting, and I would be surprised if that angry brute could write at all. . .”

Lapis scowled, slamming her car door shut with a little too much force. Her body tensed, and her defensive position gave off the appearance that she was ready to fight.

“. . . **_Get lost.”_**

“So, I’m right then.” Jaune stated, tucking the napkin back into her pocket.

“Just leave us **_alone._** The three of us are done with your bullshit. It’s **_over and done with._** ”

Jaune huffed, taking a step or two forward, in which Lapis took a few steps back, bumping into the side of her car.

“That’s what I came here to discuss. I’ll leave you and Peridot alone. . . if you do me a favor.”

“I’m not doing you any favors. End of story.”

“Well, that’s a shame. I guess I could ask  _Peridot_  to do it for me, then.”

Lapis froze. She could feel her insides twisting in anger and her chest bubbling with rage. She tightened her hands into fists, talking through gritted teeth. “I don’t want to see you talking to her ever,  ** _EVER_**  again. She’s not going to do whatever you _fucking_ want anymore. _You can’t convince her.”_

Jaune, despite her tired and bitter expression, managed to muster up a smile. “Well, if my memory serves me correctly, I remember it being fairly  _easy_  to convince her of doing things. Despite what’s occurred, Lazuli, are you absolutely  _positive_  that she won’t fall for me again? If not, then you had better take up my offer.”

Despite how much she hated it, despite how much she tried to fight it. . . Lapis felt  _doubt_. She felt _doubt_ that Peridot would be alright by herself around Jaune. She’d have to see her almost every day. She didn't. . . she didn't know if Peridot could say _'no'_ again, or even worse, if she _could_ find it within herself to say no, then what would Jaune. . . 

“. . . I don’t trust you.” Was all Lapis could manage to say.

Jaune rolled her eyes. “Peridot played along with me because she wanted affection. I gave her affection because I needed her services. However, if I had _another_ little helper, let’s say,  _you_ , then I wouldn’t  _need_  her anymore. Therefore, no advances. . .”

Lapis seemed to be battling between decisions inside her head. If she. . . if Jaune was determined to get something else. . . and if Peridot could still be in trouble. . .

“. . . I want  _proof_  that you’re not going to hurt her again.” Lapis demanded.

“I figured it would take more than just that to convince you.” Jaune said, reaching her hand up to the side of her head, pulling out one of her diamond earrings from its piercing, and dropping the little yellow jewel into Lapis’s hand.

Lapis stared down at the accessory in bewilderment, rolling it around in the palm of her hand before looking back up at Jaune, confused. “. . . Why are you giving me this?”

“Think of it as a token. A promise of our arrangement.”

Lapis picked up the diamond between her fingers, twisting it around as the light posts in the parking lot caused little glimmers across its surface. Lapis frowned, and gave the earring one last glance before balling up her fist, accepting it. “Fine . . . but this is the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“It’s not as  _‘stupid’_ as walking through campus covered head to toe in wet sand.”

“So you  ** _are_**  spying on us!”

“I hardly call it spying when you’re so incredibly easy to spot. Your hair, Peridot’s hair, Jasper’s . . . appearance. She almost looked normal covered in filth.”

Another flash of hot anger crossed throughout Lapis’s body, the earring stabbing a little hole in the palm of her hand as she tightened her fist around it. “ _Don’t you **DARE**  talk about her like that!_” Lapis warmed, stepping forward, her finger jabbing at Jaune’s chest. Jaune was a little surprised at just how aggressive that the young girl could be. She looked ready to kill, and if Jaune hadn’t been employed at the same establishment she was enrolled at, she was certain she would.

Jaune brushed Lapis’s hand away, disinterested and unfazed. “Well then, if you're not willing to discuss this in a civilized manner, then I suppose I’ll take my leave.” Jaune stated, turning on her heel and beginning her way down the parking lot, her own car’s taillights flashing in the distance.

“Wait!” Lapis called, halting Jaune and prompting her to turn around.

“. . . What’s the favor?”

Jaune stood for a moment before reaching back into her pocket, pulling out the napkin, along with a pen. She held out the two objects in the palm of her hand, and motioned for Lapis to come over.

“Phone number. I’ll need it.”

Lapis frowned, a feeling of unease flowing over her at the thought of Jaune having her contact information. Hesitantly, she complied, walking over and signing her number on the napkin.

“I’ll let you know what I want on a later date. For now, just keep out arrangement in mind.”

“. . . I . . . okay.” Lapis said, watching as Jaune continued on her way back to her own car. However, before Jaune could get so much as a few steps forward, Lapis stopped her again.

“W-wait! Hold on!”

Jaune frowned, turning back to Lapis with an avid look of annoyance. _“. . .Yes?”_

“I- I want to know what Jasper talked to you about. Back at the motel. What happened?”

After a moment, Jaune’s face lit up with realization, a little smirk beginning to form on her lips.

“Oh. . . she didn’t inform you?”

Lapis shook her head.

“Well. . . To put it simply, you’re not the only one who can be of use to me.”

And with that, Jaune finally took her leave, and Lapis stood in the parking lot, frozen in place as she watched Jaune step into her car, the taillights soon disappearing into the distance.

Once again, Lapis felt completely trapped and helpless within a fucked up and horrible situation. And so, in retaliation, she kicked the bumper of her car at full force, almost immediately regretting her decision as she hopped on one foot, squeezing the other one tightly within her hands.

**_OW!?!?_ **

_Well, that was gonna bruise._

_Fuck._

_Whatever._

_Everything sucks anyways, might as well add another layer of suck onto it._

Muttering out a few less-than-attractive choice of words, Lapis grabbed her belongings from out of her car, slamming the door shut and making her way back inside.

She had a new problem she had to deal with.

 


	32. Oh No

Sitting in Jaune’s class again after all that happened was, as expected, pretty fucking uncomfortable. Peridot was certain that the teacher would be avoiding her like the plague, however, Jaune maintained her professional demeanor, carrying on as if nothing had occurred, and even managing to make eye contact with Peridot once or twice during her lecture. Peridot squirmed a little underneath her gaze, even if it was brief. Her stare seemed to be so. . . empty. She didn’t see any hatred within it, and it didn’t hold the affectionate touch that it had from before. It was just. . . hollow, like she was purposely blocking out any emotions from showing.

After a grueling hour and a half of lecture and assignment explanation, Jaune dismissed the classroom, and students filed out in a cluster of noisy footsteps and mild chatter. Peridot tried her best to leave the classroom before anyone else, having packed up her bag a few minutes early. However, being so far back in the classroom, Peridot was blocked from the exit by the entirety of the class, angrily cursing to herself as she waited for them all to make their way out the door. She was a step or two away from getting her foot out the door before she heard the one thing she was dreading the most.

“Peridot.”

Peridot froze, standing in place and facing the doorway, contemplating on either turning around or booking it out the door. She took in a deep breath, and turned on her heel, taking a few steps closer to Jaune’s desk, trying her best to maintain a steady composure.  

After a moment, Jaune finally looked up from her papers to address Peridot, throwing her a neutral and professional expression. It held no emotion. It held _nothing_ to give Peridot any sort of idea of what Jaune felt about her. It was just like before. Peridot was just another student again. Another name in her gradebook.

“I think it’s best that neither of us speak of this whole situation again. Let’s continue forward as we did before this.”

 _… Are you fucking kidding me?_ Peridot thought. _After everything, after everything that Jaune had put her and her friends through, she just wanted to **continue forward?** The manipulation, the physical abuse, the terrible plans that she had, the. . . the time in the motel. . . _Peridot’s face turned red, and despite the anger bubbling up inside her, and the urge to scream and rant and yell, she debated on saying something. In the end, however, she kept her mouth shut, and she nodded her head.

“Good. That’s all.” Jaune stated, picking up one of her pens and beginning to write something down on a slip of paper.

Peridot nodded once again, and she turned around, intending to leave the classroom. However, Peridot stopped herself. She placed one hand on the doorframe, and looked down at the floor, mentally battling between spitting something out or not. After another moment of debate, and after creating a small chip in the paint of the door frame, Peridot mumbled out a small, barely audible sentence.

 _“. . ._ _You hurt me._ ”

Jaune looked up from her work, a look of mild surprise crossing over her face. She stared at the back of Peridot’s head, waiting for her to continue on. Upon seeing that Peridot had nothing else to say, she responded.

“. . . Yes, I did.”

“You hurt a lot of people.”

“. . . Yes.” Was all Jaune could think to say, staring at Peridot with a look of contemplation. She searched for some other way to respond to that, but the second that Jaune found something, Peridot walked out of the class room, leaving Jaune to herself. At that moment, Jaune realized that the affection Peridot had held for her before was gone.

And for some reason. . .

For some God, damned reason. . .

. . . That _bothered_ her.

* * *

Jasper sat on her bed, hunched over her computer as she begrudgingly attempted to revise one of her papers. She let out a huff, deleting the last sentence she had written and starting over again. After a moment, she heard the door creak open, and glanced up from her laptop to see Lapis standing in the doorway.

“Hey, c’mon in.” Jasper said, her eyes flicking back down to her computer screen, beginning to type away again. She heard the door shut, and continued with her schoolwork. After she had managed to bullshit about four sentences, giving her a small paragraph, Jasper looked back up at Lapis and smiled.

“You all caught up with your late work yet?” Jasper asked, only to be met with silence. Lapis stood with her arms on her hips, her lips shut, and an unhappy expression on her face, glaring at Jasper, waiting for something.

Jasper raised an eyebrow, looking behind her and to both of her sides, trying to find something that Lapis was upset with. Upon finding nothing, she looked back up at Lapis, confused.

“. . . What?”

Lapis stayed silent, holding her glare and lightly tapping her foot on the floor.

“. . . **_What!?_** ”

Lapis crossed her arms.

“How the hell am I supposed to know what I did wrong if you don’t ** _fuckin’_** **_tell me!?_** What, is it ‘cuz I busted in on your date last night? What? What is it?”

Lapis reached into her pocket, pulling out and holding up the diamond earring from Jaune.

Jasper squinted, looking even more confused than before. “. . . What is that? An m&m?”

“Wh-? _No! **Look!**_ ” Lapis yelled, walking over and holding the accessory closer to Jasper’s face.

Jasper stared at it for a moment, a look of realization soon crossing over her face, accompanied by a flash of panic.

“ _What the fuck!?_ How the fuck did you _find_ that!?” Jasper yelled, nearly knocking her computer off the bed as she jumped off it, getting on her knees and lifting up the mattress, sticking her hand underneath and rummaging around.

“It’s not yours, Jasper. It’s mine. I got roped into her little deal too.”

After a moment, Jasper looked up at Lapis, wide-eyed. Both of them stood there and looked at each other, each with a little yellow earring in their hands.

“. . . Well, shit.” Was all Jasper managed to say, her attention soon pulled away from the situation as she heard her phone go off, and soon after, Lapis’s phone going off. The two of them shared one last look of confusion before checking their phones, each of them being met with a text from Jaune.

“Well speak of the devil.” Jasper laughed, standing up and opening the message.

* * *

“Hey, I’m back.” Peridot called out, stepping into the dorm room and shutting the door behind her, throwing her bag onto her computer chair. See looked around to see that Jasper wasn’t there. Well, whatever. She was probably out on a run or something.

Peridot shrugged it off and kicked her shoes off next to her bed, sitting down on sheets and pulling her phone out of her pocket, reaching over to her nightstand to plug it in. Upon seeing that her phone charger was missing, Peridot groaned, standing up from her bed and walking over to Jasper’s nightstand, where her phone charger was, indeed, plugged into the wall.

Peridot grumbled something about Jasper _‘getting her own damn charger’_ before she yelped in pain, immediately jumping onto Jasper’s bed to get away from whatever she had just stepped on. Peridot cursed, rubbing at the small, red indentation on the bottom of her foot, before glaring down at the carpet, searching for the sharp object. Eventually spotting it, Peridot reached down and picked up a small, diamond earring, twisting it between her fingers in confusion.

Jasper didn’t wear jewelry, and this didn’t look like something that Lapis would wear, she thought. Peridot brought it a closer to her face, and upon seeing the yellow tint to it, nearly dropped it back onto the floor again. She felt her body freeze, her heart heavily thumping in her chest.

_There. . . wasn’t any reason for. . . why the **hell** would it be in here? Was she **in** here? Did Jasper talk to her? Did Jaune. . .?_

Peridot began to panic, gripping the jewelry tightly in her palm as she ran out the door, down the halls, and to Lapis’s dorm, to which she began frantically banging on the door.

“ ** _Lapis!?_** _Lapis are you there!?”_

Peridot nearly fell over as the door opened up mid-knock. She looked up to see Garnet, looking down at her with her usual stoic expression.

“Hey.”

“Garnet! Is Lapis here? I need to talk to Lapis.” Peridot said, tilting side to side in an attempt to look past Garnet and into the room.

“She left a little while ago. Why?”

“Oooh no. No no no no _nonononononono._ ” Peridot frowned, pacing back and forth in front of Garnet, who stood and watched for a moment before getting down onto one knee, reaching Peridot’s eye level and resting a hand on her shoulder, calming her down.

“Peridot, what’s wrong?” she asked, to which Peridot looked up at her, panicked.

“Do you know where she went? Did she say anything?”

Garnet thought to herself for a moment, then responded. “A coffee shop. She came in for a moment to grab her bag, and told me that was going to a coffee shop with Jasper to meetup with someone. I thought that was you.”

Peridot bit her lip, nodding and grabbing onto Garnet’s arm, looking at her with a pleading expression.

“Garnet, I need your help.”


	33. Oh Shit, Here We Go

Peridot intently stared out the car’s window, closely watching the entrance to the small coffee shop, waiting for Jaune and her friends to step outside.

“Oh stars. . . I can’t believe we’re about to do this.” Peridot mumbled, beginning to feel increasingly anxious as the seconds ticked on.

“It’ll be alright, trust me. We’ve got this.” Garnet reassured, keeping an eye on the rear-view mirror through her sunglasses, which hid the slightly nervous expression resting on her own face, allowing her to maintain a calm and collected demeanor.

“Right. . . You’re right. We’ve got this. Jaune’s done plenty of horrible things to us, it's fine if we do this. . . It’s fine if we do this, right?” Peridot asked, doubt beginning to whelm up once more.

Garnet shrugged, turning her head to give Peridot a half-smile. “. . . Probably.”

“Right, right. . . oh jeeze. OH!  _Oh oh oh!_  There they are!” Peridot announced, watching as the three stepped out of the building and out into the parking lot. Lapis and Jasper wore a somber, slightly angry expression on their faces, while Jaune appeared to be rather neutral.

Peridot and Garnet waited for the group to get closer to their cars before they stepped outside, Garnet getting out before Peridot.  
  
“Oh God, I guess we’re doing this.” Peridot said, opening the car door and stepping out onto the pavement, ringing her hands together nervously. “Alright! Remember!  _Intimidating!”_

“Got it.” Garnet replied, giving Peridot a quick thumbs-up and another reassuring smile, to which Peridot smiled in return, her nerves slightly calming down.

“Okay,  _okay_.” Peridot took in a deep breath, letting it out and making her way forward, walking in between the cluster of parked cars and into Jaune, Lapis, and Jasper’s view, each of which adapted their own look of surprise at seeing Peridot and Garnet in front of them.

“Peridot!? What are you  _doing_  here!? You’re supposed to be back at campus!” Lapis said, panic slowly rising in her voice.

“And what the hell did you tag along for?” Jasper asked, throwing Garnet a baffled look.

“Heard an old friend would be here. Wanted to drop in and say hi.” Garnet said, turning to face Jaune with a calm, steady gaze.

“. . . Garnet.” Jaune greeted coldly, a touch of worry sneaking its way into her voice. It was a small detail that could easily be covered by the sense of confidence and authority that she always seemed to radiate. However, Garnet was quick to take notice of it, a small smile forming on her face as soon as she recognized it.

_Good. That would make things a bit easier._

Garnet placed one fist into the palm of her hand, cracking her knuckles. “ _. . . Jaune._ ”

“You wouldn’t be looking for a fight, now would you?” Jaune taunted. “That would be highly inappropriate, don’t you think?”

“Dunno. Depends on what you’ve been talking to my roommate about. It might be fitting.”

“That’s none of your business.” Jaune said, a defensive tone to her voice.

Garnet took a few steps forward, causing Jaune to impulsively and unconsciously take steps backwards.

“ _Why not?”_

“Because you are not  _a part_  of this!”

“Well, that’s going to be a problem.”

Peridot carefully eyed the situation, silently slipping back to the side of her car, opening the passenger’s side door as quietly as she could. She waited for Garnet and Jaune to throw a couple more threats and insults at each other before nodding up at Garnet, signaling that she was ready.

Garnet gave Peridot a faint nod, taking another step forward, edging Jaune closer to the car.

“Would you  _stop_  trying to get so close!? I’d be more than happy to call the ** _\- OOUF!_** _”_  Jaune was cut off as Garnet pushed her into the passenger’s seat, slamming the door in her face and trapping her inside.

“ _Garnet! Hold the door!”_  Peridot shouted, running around to the other side of the car and getting into the driver’s seat, all the while Jaune took in the gravity of the situation, quickly readjusting herself in the seat before furiously working at the door handle, trying her damnedest to push open the door. Garnet, however, kept the door firmly shut, one hand on the handle and the other on the door, keeping them steady and in place.

Peridot quickly stuck her keys in the ignition and started up the car, backing up and out of the parking space, all as Lapis and Jasper watched, baffled and confused as all hell.

 _“What the fuck are you doing, Peridot!?”_ Jasper shouted, slamming her hands onto Peridot’s window, trying to get her attention.

 _“ **Peridot!** ” _Lapis shouted, running up to the side of the car. “Peridot **_stop it!_** _”_

 _“ **Peridot!** **Let me out this instant!** ” _Jaune demanded.

Peridot tensed up, her face hot and her shoulders shaking. She could hear her heart thumping in her ears. She was nervous and scared, but she couldn’t back out now. She already had Jaune in the car and a destination in mind. She was going to end this _today_.

“ ** _NO!_** _”_ Peridot shouted, and with that, she drove out of the parking lot and onto the roads, driving much faster than she should have been, and leaving Garnet, Lapis, and Jasper behind.

“Where on Earth are you taking us? Slow down and  ** _let. me. out._** ” Jaune ordered.

“ _No!_  You were nice enough to drive me around! It’s  _my_  turn now!”

“I am not  _asking_  you to drop me off! I'm  _telling_  you!” Jaune warned, leaning over the median, one hand outstretched and gripping onto Peridot’s upper arm, squeezing it tightly.  ** _“Let. Me. Out.”_**

Peridot cringed at the contact, but kept her composure. She was too determined. Jaune wasn’t going to get to her this time. “I’m not your student outside of campus! I don’t have to listen to you! _You know what!?_ I’m dropping your class! I’m getting a new professor!”

Jaune’s eyes widened, a surge of panic whelming up inside her.  _"Don't you **dare!** "_

 _“Why do you even_   ** _care!?_** _"_

“ _I **DO NOT!!!** ”_

 _“ **WOULD YOU LET GO OF ME!?** ” _Peridot screamed, yanking her arm away and accidentally swerving the car into the wrong lane, a pair of headlights blinding them as a car horn furiously blared in their ears. Both Jaune and Peridot let out a terrified scream before Peridot managed to pull them back into the right lane, narrowly avoiding an accident, and a possible trip to the hospital, or the morgue.

Both of them sat in their seats, red faced and out of breath from shouting and screaming. They gripped onto the door handles and seats in a vice grip, their hearts pounding furiously in their chests. Jaune tilted her head downwards, locking her eyes on the floor and resting a hand on her chest, trying to still her heartbeat. Peridot leaned back as far as she possibly could in the seat, her hands shaking and barely able to keep a steady grip on the steering wheel.

 _“That. . . was. . . incredibly. . . stupid. . .”_ Jaune huffed, forcefully trying to get her breathing back in check, taking long inhales and exhales through her nose.

 _“It’s. . . it’s your fault. . . Jaune. . .”_ Peridot panted back, heavily breathing through her mouth.

 _“Yeah. ._.  _whatever. . .”_

“. . . What were you gonna have Jasper and Lapis do?”

“What?”

“What were you- what did you say to them? What did you do?”

“That’s none of your business anymore, Peridot.  _You nearly just got us killed!_  Do you think that this is any time to-”

“ _Jaune._ ” Peridot insisted, only to be met with silence from her professor.

“. . .  ** _Jaune._** ” She pressed again, this time being responded to with an annoyed sigh, and a cold glare.

“. . . Are you going to let me out of this car anytime soon?” Jaune asked.

“No.”

Jaune rolled her eyes, resting her cheek on the palm of her hand, obviously irritated. “ _Fine._  They agreed to help me with this whole  _Rose debacle_  if I agreed to leave you be. I was discussing possible plans that I wanted to do with them in the future, and giving them the jist of the things I’d like them to help me with.”

“. . . They were  _willing_  to help you hurt someone?”

“They only agreed as long as it wasn’t extreme. At the most, they were only going to help me mildly inconvenience her.”

“. . . Why would they do that?” Peridot asked, her voice softening, a feeling a sadness and confusion washing over her.

“They don’t trust me around you. More-so, they don’t trust  ** _you_**  around  ** _me_**. They thought you’d give in again. They didn’t want to risk it.”

“. . . Oh my God.” Peridot whispered, giving a wide-eyed, blank stare out the windshield, a million different flashbacks, scenarios, and thoughts racing through her mind.  _She_  had pushed them to this. She had messed up so many  _fucking_  times now that she. . . she. . .

Peridot resisted the urge to bury her face in her hands. She scraped at the steering wheel with her nail, biting her tongue in a desperate attempt not to cry. Despite Peridot’s unsteady emotional position, Jaune continued on.

“If you had simply let me go through with my original plan, then this wouldn’t be happening right now.”

“You were going to do something horrible to Rose’s kid! Do you know how  ** _fucked up_**  that is!?”

“I was  _going_  to until you  _ruined_ it! Besides, it’s a fair trade for Rose ruining an entire family!”

“Why are you so determined to get back at her!? Why can’t you just  _let it go!?_   Why can’t you just  _move on_  with your life and leave her be!? It’s  ** _stupid!_**  It’s going to end up with you in jail and someone getting hurt! It’s not worth it! You’re not thinking  ** _rationally!_** _”_

_“How **dare**  you suggest that! I could kill you!”_

“I’d be  _more than willing_  to drive us both off this road! I want this to end just as much as you do, Jaune! So, would you just- . . .!”  Peridot let out a breath, forcing herself to calm down momentarily. “. . . Let me help you . . .”

“. . . Why?” Jaune questioned, causing Peridot to immediately get flustered again.

“ ** _Because!_** Because I need this to be okay! I need _us_  to be okay! I need this to all  _stop!_  I need  _you_  to stop with all of these horrible things! I need you to put an end to it! I need you to  _put an end to_   _us!”_

“. . . What if I don’t want  _us_  to end?”

“. . . What?”

“What if I don’t want you to drop my class? What if I don’t want to cease communicating with you?”

Peridot turned to look at Jaune, completely stunned. She was at a loss for words, blankly staring at her as that question settled in and processed. Jaune only glanced over at Peridot for a moment, quickly turning away, avoiding further eye-contact. Jaune tapped her finger on her forearm, out of impatience or nervousness, Peridot didn’t know, all she knew was that slowly, she felt anger bubbling up inside her.

“But- you- . . .  _BUT YOU **JUST**  SAID THAT YOU WANTED TO STOP! YOU  **JUST**  SAID THAT YOU  **HATED**  ME! YOU SAID THAT WE- YOU DID ALL OF- YOU DIDN’T-_  _You-_   _. . . Why the hell are you doing this . . .?”_ Peridot asked, her voice breaking and her vision blurring up with tears. She took a hand off of the steering wheel in order to wipe the tears off from her cheeks, a few drops sticking to her eyelashes and resting under her eyes. She let out a shaky breath. “You  _pretended_  to care about me. You did awful things. You hated me. I  _loved_  you. You  _made me_  hate you. You didn’t care, but  ** _now_**  you think you do? I don’t know-. . . I don’t know what to do anymore, Jaune. I don’t-. . . “ Peridot trailed off, preventing herself from choking up again.

Jaune frowned, resisting the small urge she had to rest her hand on Peridot’s shoulder. She exhaled, resting her head back against the seat. She could feel a headache forming from all of the different emotions she had just gone through within the span of five minutes. “. . . My time with you wasn’t-. . . I- I enjoyed it. Most of it, Peridot. I enjoyed it more than I’d like to admit. I enjoyed  _you_  more than I realized. You just-. . . I suppose you don’t truly appreciate something until its gone, as the saying goes.”

“. . . Is that how you feel about Rose?”

“. . . Yes.”

“Is that why you’re so hung up over her? You treated her like crap, and then she was gone, and you got mad. Right?”

“. . .”

Peridot sighed, sitting up straight in her seat, adapting a more focused and steady composure. “Alright. Here’s what were gonna do. We’re going to beach city. You’re talking things out with Rose. We’re getting this settled and done with, and then after that. . . we go home. . . and we. . . we go back to normal. . . Okay?”

Jaune didn’t say anything, she sat in silence, her head turned towards the window, preventing Peridot from any view of her face, and any emotion that she might be showing.

Peridot didn’t say anything else.

It was a silent agreement.

It was silent acceptance.

And silently, facing the window, and fighting to keep her breathing steady. . .

. . . Jaune let a few tears fall down her cheeks.


	34. We're Here

Peridot pulled the car into a nearby parking lot, shutting it off and letting out a sigh of relief, happy to have the awkward silence from the past few hours finally over and done with.

“We’re here.” Peridot stated, staring up at the car’s ceiling, feeling more emotionally and physically drained than ever. Hopefully they would get this over with before it got too dark outside, because Peridot was not looking forward sleeping in her car again. It just wasn’t going to happen.

“Yes. We are.” Jaune affirmed, sitting back with her hands folded together on her lap, making no efforts to unbuckle, let alone move, whatsoever.

Peridot turned her head towards Jaune, raising an eyebrow. “. . . Are you going to get out of the car?” she asked.

Jaune shook her head.

Peridot huffed, stumped as to what to do now. She frowned, turning her head back to face the ceiling. After a moment of consideration, Peridot shut her eyes tightly, and with a little forced courage, she set her hand on top of Jaune’s, squeezing it.

“I’ll-. . . I’ll be there with you. I’ll help. Just-. . . just get it over with, okay?”

Jaune didn’t responded, but simply closed her eyes. She appeared to be fighting through some sort of dilemma within her mind, however, after another moment, she held Peridot’s hand back, giving it a small squeeze in return. “. . . Alright.” She said, unbuckling herself and opening the door.

Peridot nodded, letting go of her hand and stepping out of the car, shutting the door and locking it behind her. She walked along the boardwalk and through the sand alongside Jaune, until they reached the end of the cliff-side, where a solitary house sat against the rock, and the sight of a pink haired woman met their eyes.

She was sat outside on the beach, smiling and laughing at her short, brightly smiling son, who was in the middle of explaining some sort of amusing story to her, holding a couple of action figures in his hands. After a moment of vigorous story-telling, he stopped, turning his head and meeting eyes with Peridot and Jaune, giving them a wave and a warm smile. Rose looked at Steven, confused, before she turned around to look at Jaune and Peridot, an intense look of shock and confusion passing over her face. She turned around and said something to Steven, who, now confused, nodded, gathering up his figurines and walking back to the house, looking over and giving one last wave to Peridot and Jaune before disappearing inside. Rose stood up, and the two took it as their cue to make their way over.

“Jaune . . .?” Rose asked, a look of caution and disbelief in her eyes as she stared at the woman, unsure of how to react.

“Rose . . .” Jaune replied, making eye-contact briefly before staring down at the sand, looking uncomfortable and frustrated.

“. . . Peridot.” Rose addressed, momentarily turning away from Jaune to give Peridot a warm and welcoming smile. “It’s so nice to see you again.”

“Hi. Um- sorry we’re- uh- here without notice, but we wanted to. . . talk things out. **_Jaune_** wanted to. . . talk things out.” Peridot stammered.

“. . . Is that true?” Rose asked, looking to her sister for affirmation. Jaune nodded once, still unable to make eye-contact.

“Let’s-. . . talk over here.” Rose suggested, waving Jaune to follow her elsewhere. Jaune nodded, her and Peridot beginning to follow. Jaune, however, stopped in her tracks, turning to look back at Peridot.

“A little privacy, please.”

“Oh, _right_.” Peridot said, watching as Jaune and Rose walked over to a rather large segment of rock that had fallen from the cliffside, providing the two a little bit of shade over them as they talked. Rose sat down and crossed her legs, and after a moment of hesitation, Jaune did the same, and slowly, the two began talking, easing into conversation.

Peridot awkwardly looked around for a minute, eventually looking up to see Steven and Greg staring out the window of their house. Steven eventually caught Peridot’s eye, and with a smile, he motioned her over. Peridot gave one last look to Rose and Jaune before making her way down the beach and up the stairs, up onto Steven’s porch.

Steven immediately opened the door, stepping outside and greeting Peridot happily. “You’re back! You’re the person me and Connie bumped into on the boardwalk a few days ago! Peridot, right?”

“Oh, yeah, that’s me.” Peridot said, a little taken back by Steven’s forward and friendly nature. She looked past Steven to see that his dad had taken a step out the door, seeming a little uncertain if he should introduce himself or not. Luckily, as soon as Steven took notice of this, he smiled, taking a step back and standing next to his dad.

“Oh! This is my dad! Dad, this is Peridot.”

“Hey there. Greg universe, nice to meet you.” the man said, smiling as he shook Peridot’s hand. “So uh, you got any idea what’s going on down there? Do you- uh-. . . do you know Jaune?” he asked.

“It’s- it’s a long story.” Peridot awkwardly admitted, too unsure and nervous to say anything else about it.

“Well, it looks like we’ve got time. Do you wanna come inside?”

* * *

“So, she’s your professor? _Oouf._ She was always a pretty mean one. Is she still? She a strict teacher?” Greg asked, taking a sip from his can of soda.

Peridot shrugged, taking a sip of her own. “Yeah, but she’s a great professor. One of the best I’ve ever had, actually. As for being mean. . . I don’t really know. I think she’s doing a little better? Maybe?” Peridot said, unsure of how else to put it. Jaune had done some pretty terrible things over the past few weeks, but after the argument they had on the way over, Jaune hadn’t _objected_ to talking things over with Rose. Heck, she was actually _doing that_ right now! Maybe it was a sign that she was changing, or was going to change? Peridot hoped so, because if Jaune was going to try anything else after this, Peridot didn’t know if she would be able to handle it. She’d have to switch schools. She’d have to move back in with her dad. . . Okay, not really. But she really, _really_ didn’t want that to happen.

“Well, that’s good.” Greg replied, giving Peridot a smile before beginning to fiddle with his now-empty soda can, indenting the sides with his thumbs. “So, why did you come all the way down here with her? Sounds a little weird, being her student ‘n all. You two close?”

“It- uhm-. . . it’s complicated. . .” Peridot said. She felt kind of bad that she didn’t really have much else to offer to the conversation. Heck, she was usually _ecstatic_ to talk to anyone and everyone about everyday nonsense. She was a natural chatter bug! But, with the topic of Jaune. . . well, what else _could_ she say? It’s not like talking to a practical stranger about everything would be very helpful at the moment. Besides, her friends were helping her through it. She just had to make her way through this awkward conversation and that would be the end of it. That would be the end of all of this.

Greg shot her a quick look of sympathy, sitting up from the table to go toss out his can. “Hey, it’s alright. You don’t gotta explain it to me if you’re uncomfortable. All that matters is that they’re getting along, anyways.” He said, turning to look over at his son, who was positioned on the widow seat near the front door. “Hey, shtewball! Are they still doin’ okay out there?”

Steven nodded, his face practically pressed up against the glass of the window. “Yeah, they’re still talking! They look like they’re getting along.” He said, eventually prying his eyes away from the two to look back at his dad. “So, who’s Jaune? How does she know mom?”

“Err, I’ll let your mother talk to you about it. I’m not really sure if it’s my place to say anything.”

Steven nodded, turning back to look out the window. “Oh! They’re getting up now! They’re-. . . _aww!_ They’re hugging! _Oh!_ They’re coming back inside!” Steven announced, jumping off the window seat and running to the door, opening it up for them.

Eventually, Jaune and Rose made their way inside. Jaune kept her distance and stayed close to the door, while Rose walked inside, smiling over at Peridot. “Oh, _good!_ You got something to drink. You’re such a good host, Greg.” Rose complimented, causing Greg to start blushing, smiling as he walked over to his wife. “Oh come on, I’m just-. . .  Hey, are you alright? You look like you’ve been crying.” He said, worry crossing over his face as he wiped at Rose’s cheek, erasing a wet streak left behind by tears. Rose smiled down at him, taking ahold of his hand within both of her own.

“I’m fine, Greg. Don’t worry.” She said. They smiled at each other and exchanged a look, silently agreeing to talk about it later.

Greg nodded, holding Rose’s hand and turning his attention over to Jaune. “So, do you guys wanna stay for dinner? It’s getting kind of late out. You can stay overnight if you-”

“That won’t be necessary.” Jaune cut in. “Me and Peridot need to be getting back now.”

“Oh, well if you’re sure. . . Thanks for stopping by. Glad you and Rose got a chance to talk after all this time.” Greg said.

Jaune nodded to Greg before looking over at Rose, who warmly smiled back at her. Jaune felt her face turn red, and she looked away. “Yes. It was nice.” She stated simply, quickly turning to look at Peridot. “Come on, Peridot. Let’s go.”

* * *

After another round of goodbyes, Peridot and Jaune finally made their way out the door, walking onto the balcony and down the stairs, together in silence. Once they got to the bottom, Jaune stopped, forcing Peridot to stop behind her. Peridot stared up at Jaune in concern, waiting a moment before deciding to speak up.

“So. . . are you okay? It went well, right?”

Jaune didn’t immediately respond. Instead, she appeared to be getting caught up in her own thoughts, staring off down the beach, at the moon, at the ocean, at the large chunks of rock sitting in the sand. Peridot took the moment to simply soak in Jaune’s appearance.

She was tired. She had dark bags under her eyes and deep wrinkles set into her forehead and mouth. Her light blonde hair stood out harshly against the dark purple sky, and the breeze caused it to brush up against her cheeks. She looked so calm, but so distraught and stressed at the same time, leaving Peridot confused as it if she was truly okay. After another moment of staring, Peridot came to realize that Jaune, too, had those dark tear stains on her face. _She had been crying with Rose._  

After what felt like a long, long time, Jaune let out a deep breath, finally responding.

“. . . Yes. . . Thank you, Peridot.”

“. . . You’re welcome.”

And after sharing another moment of peaceful silence, the two made their way across the beach, and back to the car.


	35. Yellow Textbooks

Jaune dismissed her afternoon class once again, shutting off her slideshow presentation as the students packed up and headed out the door, antsy to leave and full of chatter, just as they always were. The only exception to this familiar routine was that one seat remained occupied among the empty and scattered chairs, a soft silence filling up the room between its two occupants.

Peridot shifted a bit in her seat, taking her glasses off and rubbing at her eyes, starting to feel a bit tired after sitting through another one of Jaune’s lectures. She had work to go to later on, too. _Woo-hoo._ She was going to get even _less_ sleep tonight.

“It’s been-. . . a hectic few weeks.” She said, earning a nod in response from her teacher.

“Yes. It has.” Jaune replied, closing her laptop and slipping it into her computer case, beginning to pack up her belongings. Peridot watched lazily, sliding her glasses back into her face, pushing them up the bridge of her nose. She still felt a little nervous being in a room alone with Jaune, however, she was a little too emotionally exhausted to care at the moment. Luckily, things had started to feel a lot better between them since the ride home from Beach City. Jaune had let go of some baggage that she had been carrying for a few years, and Peridot had finally resolved the issues she had between Jaune and her friends. Sure, there were emotional parts that were still confusing, though. Peridot still harbored some negativity about the things that Jaune had done, and her friends would still probably struggle with romance in the future, but things had worked themselves out for the best in the end. It was just a matter of what they would do from here on out.

“. . . Are we okay now? Like-. . . do we hate each other anymore?” Peridot asked.

“Last I checked, you were in love with me.” Jaune said, throwing a small grin over in Peridot’s direction. Peridot blushed furiously, either from embarrassment or anger, Jaune wasn’t sure, but either way, she quickly brushed it off. “I’m only joking. I’m not sure. You tell me.”

“Well. . .  I don’t think I hate you anymore. . . I don’t know if I love you anymore, either. . . I don’t-. . . really know how I feel.” Peridot admitted, a bit more somber than before. She stared at the floor and kicked her heel against it, trying to search within herself for how she actually felt, but. . . it was just too complicated. There were too many things that had happened in too short of a time period. There were too many emotions mixed in there. She just. . . needed a little more time in order to feel normal again. She just needed her friends to help her out. That would be easy enough. That would be okay.

Jaune eyed Peridot’s expression, a bit of disappointment crawling onto her own. She wasn’t expecting a positive response from her student, however, she had still felt a pang of sadness at hearing that. True, she didn’t really deserve much kindness from the girl, and for Pete’s sake, she didn’t even know how to feel about everything herself. Peridot had been an annoying little part of a plan she had devised, but she hadn’t expected to actually _enjoy_ spending time with her, let along grow slightly _attached_ to her. Peridot had proven to be loud, obnoxious, bossy, and much more, however, she had also been rather enjoyable at times, emotional, passionate, loyal, entertaining. . . Jaune never thought that she would end up wanting to keep her around, but she did. Time with Peridot had been nice. She didn’t want to lose that. However, she was ready to.

“Hm. Well then, if that’s the-“

_“Wait.”_

Jaune paused, giving Peridot a slightly surprise look before closing her mouth, folding her hands, and listening intently.

“I- I _want_ us to be okay, though. It doesn’t matter to me if we still talk or if we just have an academic relationship. I just want us to be okay with each other. I want to put everything behind _\- er-_ accept what happened and grow from it, at least. Can we-. . . can we do that?” Peridot asked, a slightly pleading look on her face. Jaune bit the inside of her cheek, beginning to feel slightly flustered herself.

_Goodness gracious._

_Well, if simply patching things up is what she wanted, then. . ._

“. . . I don’t see any reason why not.” Jaune replied.

“You-. . . you don’t?” Peridot said, a bit of surprise spreading over her face.

“No. I’d like to sweep this under the rug just as much as you do, Peri. If you’d like to maintain a strictly student-teacher acquaintanceship, then that’s fine. If you’d like to chat with me after class every now and then, that would also work. Whatever you feel most comfortable with.”

Peridot’s face turned a light shade of pink, her palms beginning to sweat a little.

_Goddamn it._

“You-. . . uh-. . . you used my nickname.”

Either Jaune ignored Peridot’s statement, or didn’t care. She sat up from her desk, slid on her jacket, and grabbed her computer case, making her way over to where Peridot was seated.

“Whatever you choose for us, I don’t care. I only have one request of you, if you will.” She said, resting a hand on top of Peridot’s table, looking down at her with those yellow-colored eyes Peridot had fallen in love with so many weeks ago.

Peridot immediately began to feel fidgety, swallowing down the newly formed lump in her throat.

“Uhm-. . . what-. . . what is it?”

Jaune slowly leaned down, placing a gentle kiss on to Peridot’s cheek before standing straight again, giving Peridot a mildly teasing smirk. “Don’t transfer out of my class. I’d rather not spend the rest of the semester without seeing my favorite student.”

Peridot stared up at Jaune, wide-eyed, lifting her hand to gently touch at her now lipstick-stained cheek.

“I-. . . uhm-. . . y-yeah, okay. I can do t-that.”

“Good.” Jaune said, turning around and walking over to her desk, grabbing her keys from it’s surface. “I promise this will be the last physical interaction I have with you, unless you say otherwise. . .  In the future, perhaps.”

Peridot numbly nodded, sitting up from her seat and swinging her backpack onto her back, a few different emotions beginning to stir up inside her once again. Mostly. . . warm. Peridot took in a deep breath, grounding herself before allowing a soft smile to slip onto her face. She walked over to Jaune, and both of them made their way out the door together.

“Oh, and Peridot?” Jaune said, shutting the door behind them and locking it up.

“Yeah?”

“As my favorite student, I expect you to sit near the front of the class room. I can’t tell if you’re paying attention if you’re all the way in the back.” Jaune stated, smiling down at Peridot, who couldn’t help but smile back up at her, giving a single nod.

And with that, the two parted ways, Jaune heading back home, and Peridot walking across campus to her dorm. The yellow textbook that Peridot used for Jaune’s class weighed heavily in her backpack, and for a moment, Peridot couldn’t help but grin again, simply happy that it was there. Maybe it was wrong that she was happy. Maybe it was wrong that the thought of Jaune was exciting to her again, but things were a lot different now than they were a few weeks ago. Jaune had no more evil plans, her main source of anger having been resolved. The affection that Jaune had just shown her was _genuine_ , and maybe. . . maybe Peridot could get to know the real Jaune now, or start up a new type of friendship with her.

Actually, thinking back on everything, and as a weird turn of events, this whole thing actually _helped_ Peridot and her friends get closer to each other, and to work through some of their own problems. Along with that, it ended up with Jaune working things out with her family. _It all worked out for the better._

. . . Huh. Life was pretty weird sometimes when it came to things like that.

So, what was the right thing to do? Peridot didn’t know. However, she had her whole future to figure it out, and she’d figure it out along the way. Things were going to be okay. She just had to take it one day at a time. One class period at a time.


	36. Thank You For Reading! :)

**Thank you so much for reading! :)**

 

Thank you so much for reading my cruddy little story. This was my first, and will probably be my only, finished fan-fiction that I’ve ever written. I’m not much of a writer, but I decided to write this for fun a couple of years ago, and i'm so happy that so many people liked it. All of your really nice comments are the reason that I decided to finish this! So thank you so much for all the motivation!

I know it's kind of dumb to be ranting on about a little fan-fiction, but i'm a little proud that I was able to write this whole thing! Good or bad! I only expected this to be about 15 chapters at the most! Goodness gracious.

I know it’s not perfect, and maybe it’s not even that good. I know there’s a lot of inconsistencies and errors and things that just aren’t too good or well written, but I tried, and so many of the things that you guys said made me feel like I did an okay job, so thank you so, so much. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. :)

Since I started writing this so long ago, back before so many things happened in the show, there are a lot of things that are really out of character and dumb. I started back before we knew anything about pink diamond, and before Peridot developed so much, and before SO MANY big and little plot points happened. Everything in my story seems so off character now, haha. 

I could have done and changed so many things! I could have used Greg's last name "Demayo" as a big reason why Jaune couldn't find him or Rose. If I had known about pink diamond and Rose’s past before writing this, I wouldn’t have made Rose Jaune’s sister, and instead, have had her be responsible for her sister's passing. I even considered changing it halfway through the story, but I didn’t want to confuse anyone. That might have made for a better story, but oh well, that’s all it is, a story. 

It was just for fun, and I’m really, really glad that so many people enjoyed it for a little while. I really, really appreciate everything people have said. :) Thank you so much.

I hope you have a nice day and a nice summer. :) Bye.

 


End file.
